Valerie Bertinelli Slams Trolls Who Continually Criticize Her Weight in Emotional Instagram Video

Valerie Bertinelli has struggled with her weight and with self-acceptance her entire life. She told TODAY that she uses food as a coping mechanism. She shared, “With the loss of my parents and dealing with other trials life throws our way, I’ve used food as a way not to feel the sadness or the stress, but by eating something away, all it does is make me feel worse about myself. One of my personal mottos is ‘choose happy.’ But sometimes that choice is really challenging.”

She knows that she shouldn’t use food to deal with painful emotions, but it’s still a struggle, and she is definitely not alone in this struggle. Yet, online trolls still seem to find the need to body shame her.

Back in 2020, Bertinelli told TODAY’s Hoda Kotb that when an online troll commented that she was “chubby,” she chose to respond with “kindness.” She explained, “That could sting but I think it has more to do with someone wanting to be seen, be heard, and if they do that, if they say this about me, then someone will notice them. So it made me feel compassion for that person and I can bless them and go, ‘Yeah, I’m chubby but it’s not a bad thing. It’s not a bad thing. And I’m sorry that you’re feeling so much pain so God bless you.’”

That was 2020. And in 2021, Bertinelli felt a little more emotional about it the next time a troll body shamed her. She shared in an emotional video on Instagram that she made the mistake of reading the comments on some of her recipes. One person wrote, “You need to lose weight.” This hit an emotional nerve with Bertinelli.

The actress and chef wrote, “aren’t we tired of body shaming women yet?! smh.I was going to delete my stories because it’s a little embarrassing and scary to be so vulnerable. But then I realized it was hitting it a ‘good’ nerve with so many of you who were so sweet to dm and share your same vulnerability and struggles. We all could use a little more kindness and patience and grace, because we just never know what someone else is going through.So here it is. Not deleting. Owning it. ♥️#compassion”

Watch Bertinelli’s emotional video for yourself below.

 

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A post shared by Valerie Bertinelli (@wolfiesmom)

Bertinelli is definitely dealing with a lot of emotions this year. Her ex-husband, Eddie Van Halen, died of cancer in October 2020. They were married from 1981 until 2007, and they have one son, Wolfgang.

Can you relate to Bertinelli’s emotional video? Does it surprise you that the comment about needing to lose weight made Bertinelli feel so emotional? Have you ever struggled to lose weight?