Ava Phillippe: ‘Bodyshaming is simply toxic behavior’


Ava Phillippe, daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, is 24-years-old. She generally stays out of the limelight, although she does appear on red carpets and is active on social media. She’s also done a bit of modeling, as well as a stint working as a restaurant hostess. To me, Ava looks like a little Reese clone, with a generous sprinkle of Ryan’s features mixed in. It’s uncanny how much she looks like her mom, right? That is, until you look at her next to her dad and you can totally see his features, too.

But, anyway, back to her social media! Ava has her own Instagram and TikTok accounts, where she posts pretty regularly. And, as we all know, the Internet is full of both earnest and sh–ty people who love to give their opinions for no reason. Recently, Ava had to deal with comments about her body, except they were contradictory. One comment told her that she was “too fat” while another said she was “too thin.” To respond, she posted a TikTok, set to No Doubt’s classic “I’m Just a Girl,” in which she called people out for their inappropriate comments.

You know Ava Phillippe. She’s Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s daughter. We always talk about how much she and her mom look alike. Well, sadly, people have been talking about her appearance in a different way — namely, by body-shaming her — forcing Ava to speak out. She addressed the comments yesterday on TikTok, noting that there had been “two different strangers commenting on [her] body.”

“The first said I should get on Ozempic because I’m too fat,” she wrote over the video, which showed her applying lipstick to the tune of “Just a Girl” by No Doubt. “The second accused me of starving myself because I’m too thin.”

“My weight did not change in the time period between their comments,” the 24-year-old continued, adding that, even if it did, “it wouldn’t be any of their business.”

“It’s such bullshit,” she stated. “No one deserves to be picked apart for what they look like. You don’t always know what someone’s gone through or what they struggle with.”

Ava captioned the post, “Pretty is as pretty does, babes…& bodyshaming is simply toxic behavior.”

She explained she’s seen it happening “disproportionately to young girls & women,” but also noted that “bodyshaming is toxic no matter who the subject is.”

“We all deserve to feel safe & at peace in the vessel we live in,” she concluded.

[From Buzzfeed]

Ava’s right. It is f–cked up to talk negatively about people’s bodies. Why are we still on this topic? Is it bots or just the a-holes who think this sh–t is funny? I’m an Elder Millennial who grew up in the 1990s, the era when “heroin chic” was in and celebrities who wore a size four were praised as brave for “being themselves.” Fat jokes in movies and TV shows (like Monica’s high school weight in Friends) were still considered funny. There was so much pressure on young women to look like Kate Moss or Gwyneth Paltrow, and body shaming was sadly part of the norm. I cannot tell you how lovely I found it when fashion and entertainment geared towards Gen Z normalized all body types. I will never understand why people feel entitled to put others down when weight is concerned. Our worth is not in how we look.

@avaephillippe Pretty is as pretty does, babes…& bodyshaming is simply toxic behavior. 💋 #loveyouasyouare ♬ Just A Girl (From "Clueless") – Soundtrack Wonder Band

Photos credit: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon, Marie Goujon / Panoramic / Avalon

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8 Responses to “Ava Phillippe: ‘Bodyshaming is simply toxic behavior’”

  1. Brassy Rebel says:

    She’s lovely. Men (and it’s mostly men) really think they own all women or they think you don’t know that they’re not attracted to you, and, of course, you want to be attractive to some random dude on the Internet. It’s every woman’s goal in life. 😏 Gross.

    • Cass says:

      I don’t know even one man who thinks they own all women.

      Let’s be honest, the comments Ava is talking about likely came from women.

  2. Eowyn says:

    What she said will make a positive difference for many young people. You can easily get wrapped up in appearances as an impressionable young person.
    …I’m trying to show gratitude to my body for getting me through each day. I’m at the use it or lose it stage when it comes to strength, flexibility and functionality. Hoping to be a strong older lady.

  3. Emmy Rae says:

    “We all deserve to feel safe and at peace in the vessel we live in.” is such a succinct and clear way of expressing that. Bravo Ava!

    • VoominVava says:

      I really loved that too. 🙂

    • bananapanda says:

      I have a lot of artists and dancers on my TikTok feed -> every *single* dancer video (think ballerina, tap, broadway, rockettes) has someone say “you’re too skinny” and I’m thinking they’ve never seen fit muscular bodies, understand metabolisms of dancers/athletes, let alone the nutritional balance that most dancers focus on to keep up their strength and stamina.

      Re: Ava and Reese, they are like 5’2″ – 5’4″ tiny frames so yes the dress above looks small bc she is small framed.

  4. nmb says:

    Here to say she’s Ryan’s clone and Deacon is Reese’s.

  5. VoominVava says:

    Her Mom went through the same thing. I remember the articles about Reese’s body, especially when her and Ryan first got together during their movie. Reese wasn’t as skinny as Sarah Michelle Gellar and people always mentioned it. They also spoke a lot about her getting pregnant and her body then. I remember she got slimmer and fitter after that and stayed that way mostly. Seems like she’s a good Mom as Ava is handling this very maturely.

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