10 Men Who Aren’t Afraid to Speak Up About Unhealthy Body Standards

As the entertainment industry continues to set unrealistic body standards, it’s refreshing to see some famous men speaking out against this damaging trend. From actors to athletes, these men have used their platforms to raise awareness and promote body positivity.

1. Zac Efron

Zac Efron was once criticized for not maintaining his Baywatch body. However, he now realizes that the extreme measures required to maintain that kind of physique may not have been worth it, and he’d rather be a bit healthier.

“There’s just too little water in the skin. Like, it’s fake; it looks CGI’d,” he said. “I much prefer to have an extra, you know, 2% to 3% body fat.”

2. 50 Cent

After 50 Cent made a surprise appearance during the Super Bowl halftime show, social media was buzzing with derogatory comments about his body.

However, the rapper didn’t let the negativity bring him down. He made it clear that “Fat shaming only applies when you’re ashamed of your fat.”

3. Ty Pennington

Ty Pennington faced body-shaming after posting a playful Instagram video of himself dancing shirtless. Pennington says that the video was meant to make his wife, Kellee Merrell, laugh, and he sees it as an “honest moment.”

He said, “What happened is, it’s been 22 YEARS since I made my television debut!” he wrote. “No, I don’t have a 6-pack anymore or a luscious head of hair (with frosted tips 🤣), but what I do have is wisdom, empathy, and life lessons, and at 57 years old, I’ve TRULY never been happier!”

4. Channing Tatum

When Channing Tatum was shown a shirtless picture of himself in Magic Mike XXL, he said, “That might be the reason why I didn’t want to do a third one, is I have to look like that.”

He admitted, “I don’t know how people that work a 9 to 5 actually stay in shape because it’s my full-time job and I can barely do it... It takes 2 months to get really lean, but in 3 days, you can lose it.”

5. Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson didn’t listen to those Hollywood big shots who told him to slim down and ditch his famous nickname to make it big in the movies. He stayed true to himself and refused to change for anyone or anything.

“They said, ’Okay, great. But now here’s what you have to do: You have to stop working out as much. You have to lose weight. You can’t call yourself The Rock. You can’t talk about wrestling.’ That was it. When that happened, I made a choice, and the choice was, I wasn’t gonna conform to Hollywood. Hollywood was gonna conform to me.”

6. Richard Madden

Richard Madden doesn’t want to do any “gratuitous nudity” scenes because he believes it’s not a good representation of real bodies.

He explained, “We’re projecting a very unrealistic body image. I find myself with actor friends — after we’ve done a kind of barely eating, working-out-twice-a-day, no-carbing thing for these scenes.”

7. Wentworth Miller

Wentworth Miller discussed his experience of being criticized after a meme of him went viral on social media. He used it as an opportunity to open up about his mental health and fight against body-shaming.

“In 2010, at the lowest point in my adult life, I was looking everywhere for relief/comfort/distraction. And I turned to food,” he openly shared. “They took my picture, and the photos were published alongside images of me from another time in my career. ’Hunk to chunk,’ ’fit to flab,’ etc.,” he added. “Fighting for my mental health, it was the last thing I needed.”

“Now, when I see that image of me in my red T-shirt, a rare smile on my face, I am reminded of my struggle. My endurance and my perseverance in the face of all kinds of demons. Some within. Some without,” Miller shared.

8. Jacob Elordi

Jacob Elordi spoke out against Hollywood’s objectification of men. “You learn quickly that what people take away from those movies are your stature and your figure. You have all sorts of aged people around the world only talking about what you look like,” Jacob said. “I don’t think it’s really a conversation that people have in regards to men.”

Elordi proceeded to discuss situations in which he may be “getting changed or something, and someone’s like, ’Oooaaah, would you look?,” before adding, “Can you imagine if I said to a woman, ’Look at your waist!’?”

9. John Boyega

Through his production company, John Boyega intends to create movies that break away from the convention of casting only muscular individuals as heroes and instead embrace people of diverse body types.

“Why do leads always have to be muscular and ripped?” he asked. “That kind of sometimes shows to me that the guy has too much time on his hands. What real (...) hero of history [looks that way?]. Do you know what I mean? It’s about rebranding the way in which we are fed a false narrative of perfection.”

10. Jonah Hill

“I know you mean well, but I kindly ask that you not comment on my body,” Jonah Hill wrote to his fans.

“Good or bad, I want to politely let you know it’s not helpful and doesn’t feel good. Much respect.”

Here are more articles about body positivity:

• Selena Gomez Reveals Why She’s Gaining Weight and Sends a Message to Her Body Shamers
• “Stop Equating Thinness With Health and Happiness,” How Lena Dunham Inspires People to Fall in Love With Their Curves and Scars
• 12 Famous Men Talk About Why Being Comfortable With Your Body Is the Only Beauty Standard We Need
• 8 Celebs Who’ve Made Peace With Their Bodies and Chose Happiness
• Taylor Lautner Reveals “Twilight” Caused Him Decades of Body Image Issues