Actress and former Glee start Heather Morris has opened up about the "mortifying" experience of having private intimate pictures of her leaked online.
Taking to Instagram to share her powerful post, the 33-year-old mom-of two recalled how the leaks changed her life and perception, alongside a stunning bikini snap.
Writing to her 792,000+ Instagram followers, Morris wrote:
"Okay so over 10 years ago, some of nude photos were leaked of me and many other actresses in the industry.
"To say I was MORTIFIED is an understatement; my body was and still is part of my job and I felt like I couldn’t even walk around my work place thinking that everyone had seen every single piece of me (a couple of snide comments from co-stars [came] my way which didn’t help)."
Morris then opened up about how becoming a mom has impacted how she "displays" herself, adding:
"Shortly after that faded away into the abyss, I had two kids and became a mom, so till this day, I’ve been VERY sacred about how I display myself and definitely still don’t even feel 100% comfortable in anything riskay."
However, the star now says she's feeling better than ever in lockdown, adding:
"But, to add no pressure to feeling like I need to be a twig or a certain weigh/shape/size (it’s honestly a concept I’ve come to terms with that my body is beautiful regardless)...recently I began the @barrys 30 day challenge and I just want to say that during this quarantine I feel the best I’ve ever felt in over a decade.
"[It's] a f**cking challenge and a tough one at that, but I just want to say..let’s not anyone feel ashamed of who we are and just go kick some ass when we want to and feel good about ourselves, okay!!? I’m done..."
Back in 2010, Morris spoke with Extra about her reasoning behind posing nude for a photo shoot. She said:
"For me, I think they are beautiful. It’s not something I’m ashamed of. Everybody should do tasteful, beautiful nudes so when you get older you’re gonna be like, 'Oh, that’s when my body looked so great!'"
At the time of the image leaking, Morris was able to "laugh off" the incredibly invasive hack, and according to US Weekly, said: "Well, it could be worse! At least I look good."
