Self Esteem responds to body shaming comments after US TV debut

Self Esteem has spoken out against the body shaming comments she saw online in response to her appearance on The Late Late Show With James Corden.

The singer-songwriter (real name Rebecca Lucy Taylor) made her US TV debut on the chat show this Monday (January 9), performing ‘I Do This All The Time’ from her Mercury-nominated second album ‘Prioritise Pleasure’.

Taking to Twitter after the episode aired and the performance was shared online, Taylor said that she’d seen some negative comments in regards to her body.

“American people are calling me fat on the internet,” Self Esteem began a thread of tweets. “Which is whatever but I really do feel like it’s a time warp here [in the US] in terms of cultural societal expectations of femininity.

“I’ve struggled with disordered eating my whole life and I cba to feel shite anymore about a body that is currently working perfectly well.”

She continued: “I am no less talented or excellent because I’m heavier than a Hadid etc. I may gain or lose weight but jfc I dream of a day where it isn’t a talking point.

“The thing is, it’s not hard to get really thin. It just makes life something a lot less lovely. My inner wiring certainly sees my reflection as something that needs ‘sorting’ but then I remember the lovely vs less lovely toss up and get on with my day.”

You can see the posts below.

American people are calling me fat on the internet. Which is whatever but I really do feel like it’s a time warp here in terms of cultural societal expectations of femininity. I’ve struggled with disordered eating my whole life and I cba to feel shite anymore about a body that is

— Rebecca Lucy Taylor (@SELFESTEEM___) January 10, 2023

The thing is, it’s not hard to get really thin. It just makes life something a lot less lovely. My inner wiring certainly sees my reflection as something that needs ‘sorting’ but then I remember the lovely vs less lovely toss up and get on with my day.

— Rebecca Lucy Taylor (@SELFESTEEM___) January 10, 2023

During a previous conversation with Women’s Health UK (via Metro), Taylor opened up about how she had “struggled with disordered eating” in the past, “as have most of the women that I know”.

“It was a depressing reality that in my old band [Slow Club] the skinnier I was, the more opportunities we’d get,” she added.

“With Self Esteem, I have full creative control, and it’s been important to me to celebrate my body: it’s not plus size; it’s not small; it may go up or down a stone. It’s a healthy size 14 and, for some reason, that feels radical.”

Speaking to NME for a Big Read cover interview in 2021, Taylor explained how her latest studio album delved into her experience of embracing “true self-acceptance and self-love”.

“It’s the answer to everything, but it’s still something that you’re meant to not do,” she continued.

“I go down this road a lot, and I get quite upset. But then I think, no – just keep in my little part of the world, my group, accepting myself, loving myself, and then make my little silly songs and do my little silly dances. And if someone can learn from that and pass it forward, at least I’m doing something?”

Self Esteem recreated Britney Spears’ 1999 Rolling Stone cover for the interview in question, and explained how she wanted to present a “realistic” version of the iconic image.

“My idea was, recreate it, but what’s realistic is I’ve got a sandwich next to me with a reduced sticker on it, Kermit, and I don’t look like Britney Spears,” Taylor explained.

“I want to show, really authentically, what I look like in bed. The reality is that women don’t look like that in bed.”

Meanwhile, Self Esteem has announced a trio of North American live shows for this April.

She’ll embark on a UK and Ireland headline tour next month – you can find any remaining tickets here.