Actor Jameela Jamil has been a warrior for body-acceptance but explains that she is this way in spite of her family who was “not helpful” during her own struggles with an eating disorder.
Daily Mail reports that the star of The Good Place talks about her family being “fat phobic,” saying that they are now estranged, and she no longer speaks to them. Jamil explains that when she fought anorexia, her family wasn’t able to help her because they thought it was “brilliant” that her hip bones jutted out.
“Jutting hip bones were seen as a sign of peak brilliance both at home and at school. It didn’t matter that I did well academically or was a good swimmer. All I thought was important about me was that my jeans hung off my hip bones.”
Jamil’s mother, Shireen, was also once a model and a domestic violence activist. For years, she campaigned for Shireen’s Law, which put a stop to the time limit on reporting domestic violence. Prior to the change in the law, a domestic violence victim had six months to report the crime.
Jameela Jamil has fought against the use of Photoshop and photo editing, and has asked that published photos of her remain untouched.
Actress and body-positive campaigner, Jameela Jamil, gets candid about mental health and trying to break Hollywood… @jameelajamil https://t.co/To2j06mA6t
— British GLAMOUR (@GlamourMagUK) August 3, 2019
Jamil states that for her, it’s not about body positivity as much as it is about body neutrality.
“Instead of practicing body positivity, I practice body neutrality…I constantly thank my body for what it does for me.”
The actor says that she is grateful for the physique she has and is focused on how the body repairs itself, gets her to where she wants to go, and it deserves respect. Jamil believes it’s about time that people stop shaming others for their body shape and type, and start instead practicing acceptance that people come in all shapes and sizes.
Jamil has become well-known in the U.S. for her role in the popular series The Good Place , where she plays Tahani, according to The Inquisitr . The series is in its last season on NBC, and while the cast is sad to see it end, they think the time is right to wrap things up while they are on top.
D’Arcy Carden, who plays the robot Janet in the series, shared that leaving the show feels like a breakup, and she can’t be sure that she will ever be able to work with such a great group of people ever again.
