Chelsea Handler reflects on past body image struggles: 'Such a waste'
Chelsea Handler recently got candid about her struggles with body image.
During an appearance on "The Jamie Kern Lima Show" in an episode that aired Tuesday, Handler, who turned 50 in February, shared the story behind her annual tradition of skiing in a bikini to celebrate her birthday.
"Sometimes I've been topless," she admitted of her ritual on Whistler Mountain in British Columbia. However, at the request of her nieces and nephews -- who have "pointedly said, 'Can you please not be topless?'" -- she said she's made some adjustments the last couple years.
"It is slightly vulgar," Handler said, "But it's not vulgar -- it's freeing, it's freeing."
She continued, "I understand where they're coming from [but] … to me [it's] the essence of who I am. Me skiing down a mountain ... in a bikini is exactly who I wanted to be when I grew up."
Host Lima noted that 91% of girls and women opt out of meaningful activities due to body insecurities, sharing how she, too, had missed out on experiences because of self-consciousness. She then asked Handler if she had ever struggled with body image.
"Yes, of course. I'm a woman," Handler replied. "I've done the same thing in my 20s. I would weigh myself 15 times a day. If I weighed a certain amount, I wouldn't go out that night. I would exercise. I would run for two hours on the beach and then come back and weigh myself to see how much water weight I lost."
Looking back, she called that time in her life "such a waste," saying, "I've wasted so many hours [worrying] about my body image."
"I hate that every woman in this world deals with that," she continued. "I hate that our society hasn't embraced [moving forward]. Even though we're beginning the conversations, it's going to take another thousand years for girls to understand everyone is different. You all have different parts. So yes, I am a victim of the very same thing."
Now, at 50, Handler said she still thinks about how she looks in a bathing suit, but she's much more accepting of her body.
"I'm much more freer about the fact that I do have cellulite, and it's not shameful," she said.
She said she also prioritizes taking care of herself not just for appearance, but for strength and health.
"I want to be powerful. I lift weights because I want to be strong and I want to be able to ski like a badass, you know? I train all the time because I want to be strong for skiing," she added.
Still, she acknowledged the lingering pressure.
"I also want to look good," she admitted. "I'm not somebody that you can excise from that argument and say that I don't feel that way. I do care about the way I look, and I wish we had an answer, but I don't have the answer for that. I don't know."
