Country music star hits back at body shamer: 'There's no right or wrong answer to your body'
Country singer Carly Pearce recently spoke out against body shaming.
The 28-year-old Nashville-based artist, who is currently co-headlining a tour with singer Russell Dickerson, received a direct message on Instagram asking her if she was pregnant along with photos zoomed in on her stomach region, after performing in Iowa last week.
Upon receiving the messages on Instagram, Pearce decided to say something.
"Last night, I got off stage on a high from an amazing show in Iowa, where I headlined my second show of the weekend, hearing the entire crowd sing the words to my songs," she captioned a post on Instagram of the comments she received.
"I checked my messages as I do every night after a show because I love y'all and love to see the fun you've had at the show, and then I saw these 2 messages," she continued.
Pearce told "Good Morning America" that she was "really, really hurt," when she initially saw the messages.
"Nobody wants to get a photo of themselves in an unflattering way out on social media to be exploited," she said. "Especially being onstage and being vulnerable, to know that somebody was out there and taking that kind of a photo of me and those thoughts were even in their mind -- it was really hurtful."
Pierce explained why she wanted to share her message in the caption of her post.
"Honestly I'm still in disbelief but I wanted to share this with you because I feel like this is important (especially for women) to see that WORDS ARE POWERFUL & no matter what, THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK and BE KIND. Body Shaming & Bullying ARE NEVER OKAY," she wrote.
Pearce also told GMA that she wanted to try to turn the incident into a positive situation.
"It wasn't about me exploiting who did this or bullying them because if I would've exploited them that's bullying in another way," she shared. "It was more raising awareness for people that words hurt."
"I have a blue check mark by my name, so people automatically think that maybe those things aren't things that I deal with," she said. "Fans might not think that people in the public eye deal with the same things that they do."
The singer shared that she has dealt with body shaming before. "I think as a woman you'll always feel those pressures, and I definitely have my own stories throughout my life."
"It's definitely been something that I think, just as an entertainer, is a little more in the forefront of your mind," she said on image expectations.
Pearce hopes to use her platform to show women and men that shaming for one's appearance is never acceptable.
"I want women to love the skin that you're in, not worrying about what size or shape you are -- and understand that there's no right or wrong answer to your body," she said. "Words are powerful, and you need to speak kindly and understand, 'What is the tables were turned, how would that feel?'"
"It has to stop," she added.
