Kelly Osbourne's appearance, those comments and the harms of speculation
Kelly Osbourne's appearance, those comments and the harms of speculation
Sara Moniuszko, USA TODAYMon, March 2, 2026 at 3:31 PM UTC
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Kelly Osbourne's appearance, those comments and the harms of speculation
Kelly Osbourne's appearance at the Brit Awards on Saturday caused a stir of social media chatter, and her response is a reminder about the harm that can come from commenting on others' bodies.
"There is a special kind of cruelty in harming someone who is clearly going through something," Osbourne, 41, wrote on her Instagram story. "Kicking me while I'm down, doubting my pain, spreading my struggles as gossip, and turning your back when I need support and love most."
Osbourne was at the event to honor her father Ozzy Osbourne, who was posthumously honored with a lifetime achievement award.
"None of it proves strength; it only reveals a profound absence of compassion and character," she continued. "I'm currently going through the hardest time in my life. I should not even have to defend myself. But I won't sit here and allow myself to be dehumanized in such a way!"
The problem with commenting on someone's looks is you don't know exactly what they're going through, experts previously told USA TODAY. The Mayo Clinic lists myriad potential causes for weight loss, including mental health as well as physical illnesses.
Plus, commenting on someone's weight reinforces the belief that someone's appearance is the most important thing about them, Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar, regional medical director at the Eating Recovery Center, previously told USA TODAY.
"These comments about how your body is acceptable or unacceptable, it reinforces again that you are not worth more than your body ... and that you have to present yourself a certain way for the world to find you acceptable," she said. "It just reinforces that sort of superficial, body-focused idea that we know is so painful and harmful for every single one of us, because we are so much more than this vessel that carries us."
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Wassenaar added that comments about someone's body don't just impact that person. They impact "every single person that lives in a body."
Ozzy Osbourne died in July 2025 at age 76, and Kelly Osbourne has opened up in the months since about struggling with grief over the loss.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever been through in my life," she said in February at the Grammys, also sharing that she is "not doing so great."
This isn't the first time Osbourne has dealt with comments about her body, either.
She previously hit back against cruel comments about her weight in December, when she said in a video shared on Instagram, "To the people who keep thinking they're being funny and mean by writing comments like 'Are you ill,' or 'Get off Ozempic, you don't look right.' My dad just died, and I'm doing the best that I can, and the only thing I have to live for right now is my family."
If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, the National Eating Disorders Association's toll-free and confidential helpline is available by phone or text at 1-800-931-2237 or by click-to-chat message at nationaleatingdisorders.org/helpline. For 24/7 crisis situations, text "NEDA" to 741-741.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow and Rachel Hale, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kelly Osbourne and problem with skinny shaming
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