Daisy Ridley Fires Back at Body Shamers

Daisy Ridley responded to negative comments about her body after an Instagram user accused her of setting unrealistic expectations by appearing too thin in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  In a meme the user posted to their own Instagram account, the caption reads, “I can't believe the unrealistic expectations I'm setting for young girls. Who cast me anyway? Don't they know real women haves curves?” over a photo of Ridley in character as Rey.

The actress reposted the Instagram and fired back at the meme, writing: “Real women are all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, all levels of brave, have families, don't have families. I'm a 'real woman' like every other women in this world”. She later deleted the post after her fans sent a slew of hateful messages to her online critic. Ridley posted a second statement to her Instagram clarifying her views and asking her followers to stop sending hurtful messages.

She wrote “Guys it was not my intention for anyone to send messages to that poor person that posted the original picture. My whole post Is about being kind to each other, so please refrain!” In the lengthy post, she went ahead to defend not only her own appearance, but her character's position as a role model.