Are We Hypocrites When it Comes to a Star's Weight?

By , SparkPeople Blogger
I’m so glad I’m not a celebrity. I criticize my own body more than I probably should. I can't imagine how I'd feel if the rest of the world were doing the same.

Cheryl Burke, the two-time champion from ABC's Dancing with the Stars has gained weight. She admits that, after having the summer off for the first time in years, she relaxed, indulged and added a bit of weight to her size 4 frame.

"Very comfortable" in her own skin, Burke, 24, didn't think much of the extra five pounds on her petite, strong frame. Then the tabloids and bloggers took aim at her. Pregnancy rumors, awful name-calling and other hateful lies spread around the Internet and the tabloids, Burke told ABC's Diane Sawyer on Good Morning, America recently.

"Stars are supposed to be just like us, and yet we jump when they go up or down a pound or two," Sawyer said while introducing Burke and her story.
For the record, Burke's a size 4. The average American woman is between a size 12-14.

Why are we so preoccupied with tearing other people down? Is it jealousy? If we're not criticizing (pre-pregnancy) Angelina Jolie and the cast of Gossip Girl for being too thin, then we're criticizing Tyra Banks and Jennifer Love Hewitt for not being thin enough. (Hewitt lost 18 pounds after the tabloids took aim at her!)

Does putting down celebrities make us feel better about our own bodies? Most of us (myself included) are larger than a size 4. So if we are mocking a size 4 woman, is that just our collective self-loathing coming through? If you call a size 4 "fat," then what do you say about yourself?

Have we forgotten the old adage "People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"? Dean recently wrote about the "F" word, and the majority of commenters said calling someone "fat" is unacceptable. Is an addendum necessary? We shouldn't call people fat... unless they're a celebrity.

Burke is beautiful, strong, and capable. Most people could never go out there and what she does on national television.

"You do not have to be a size 0 to be beautiful," Burke said. Hear, hear.

The hypocrisy when it comes to a woman's weight is astounding, don’t you think?

Like it or not, celebrities are role models in our society. So should we cut them some slack when it comes to weight and appearance?