Demi Lovato praises Bebe Rexha for calling out bodyshaming designers who refused to dress her

‘Love this and you for speaking your mind and using your voice!’

Olivia Petter
Thursday 24 January 2019 10:10 GMT
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Bebe Rexha says f*ck you to designers who don't want to dress her for The Grammys for being 'too big' at a size 8

Demi Lovato has spoken out in support of Bebe Rexha after the “Say My Name” singer revealed that fashion designers had refused to dress her for the Grammys because she was “too big”.

Rexha posted a video on Instagram explaining how shocked she was that her size eight (UK size 10) frame was deemed unacceptable and urged designers to empower women rather than belittle them due to their size.

Lovato, who has previously been outspoken about her own body image struggles, commented on Rexha’s post: “F***ing preach!!! Love this and you for speaking your mind and using your voice!!” followed by three hand-clapping emojis.

The 29-year-old replied to her comment, writing: “I love you”.

But Lovato isn’t the only famous face to voice her support for Rexha, whose remarks point to an industry-wide problem that sees female celebrities struggling to find designers to dress them for red carpet events if they’re above a sample size (usually a UK size six or eight).

Singer Ne-Yo also commented on the video, writing “Amen”, while models Jillian Mercado and Leomie Anderson praised Rexha for shedding light on such a troubling issue.

“Never apologise for being exactly who you are babe,” wrote Mercado.

“It’s unfortunate that these designers still believe that a size eight is ‘too big’. Remember these designers because one day they will be coming after you begging for you to wear their garments.”

In the clip, Rexha explained how her stylists had approached a number of fashion designers in the hope that they would create a bespoke gown for the singer to wear to the Grammy’s, where she has been honoured with two nominations.

Though she didn’t name those who had refused to dress her, it’s common knowledge in the fashion industry that designers can be unrelenting when it comes to accommodating women whose body does not conform to their restrictive sizing standards.

Former British Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman was vocal about this issue in 2009, issuing a statement urging designers “to consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes of their clothing, which limits the range of women who can’t be photographed in their clothes, and encourages the use of extremely thin models”.

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