International model Emily Ratajkowski has recently taken to Instagram to not only share a throwback snap of herself at 14-years-old, but also an important message to her teenage self and any other 14-year-old fans.
Ratajkowski originally gained international recognition after starring in Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' music video and appearing in commercials like this:Writing to her 25 million followers, the model reflected on what her life was like at 14-years-old, and encouraged any teenagers reading her post to "read lots of books". Ratajkowski typed:
"I used to like showing people this photo of me at 14 to prove that my body is natural. Now I’m a little sad it exists at all. I was just a kid in this picture and I wish the world had encouraged my 14-year-old self to be more than just my body."
The 28-year-old continued:
"All of that said, I do still feel like I’ve been empowered through my body and my sexuality via modeling and platforms like Instagram.
"Luckily I have discovered the parts of me that are so much more important than 'sexiness', but if you’re a 14-year-old girl reading this, don’t worry about any of that for now. Read lots of books and know that what you see on Instagram is just a very small fraction of complete and beautifully complex human beings."
However, despite receiving support from famous personalities like actress Trace Lysette, model Chantel Jeffries, and even singer Selena Gomez, several of Ratajkowski's followers slammed the "inspirational" message, calling it "contradicting" and "BS".
Instagram user jeneuhaus commented: "Still 99% of your pictures are from your body, how incoherent", along with several laughing emojis.
Another Instagram user, benwmarsh, replied: "Quite possibly the biggest load of BS I ever did read on the gram. What a shame."
A third, missdanilatimer, responded with: "This is sad on multiple levels and ever so contradicting. You’ve made a success based on your body and [you're] telling young girls to read books whilst posting a picture of your body at 14. Why don’t post a picture on reading books or talk to young girls in your community?"
User ebbyclem7 bluntly typed: "Unfollowing you because of this drivel ... You’re genetically & aesthetically very blessed. that is your brand, stick to it. Stop pretending to be a solution to a problem you hugely feed . Your swimwear wouldn’t cover most 14 year olds labia’s [sic]".
And user stellagrufman typed: "Feels like this post is very counterproductive, for what you just preached.. You’re telling us about how sad it makes you feel because of the girls seeing women all over the internet with super fit and slim [bodies] and thinking it’s natural.. But also posting that picture of yourself just to make sure that people understand that you are born ”perfect”(natural).. Instead you should show the girls how much work it usually is behind a body like that.. You are one of a thousand with a body that appears to have undergone hours of [exercise]. Try focusing on making the complexes disapear instead of pushing it further.. [sic]"