Not pregnant and not flattered: Riverdale star Lili Reinhart shuts down trolls with body-positive message
It's no news that Riverdale's very own Betty Cooper and Jughead are a thing in real life. The co-stars have been rumored to be dating for some time now but, recently, a new wave of speculation swept the Riverdale universe, that actress Lili Reinhart might be pregnant with her boyfriend's baby.
The whirlwind chatter was purely based on some unflattering photo that made its way to the Internet over the Memorial Day weekend, showing Reinhart hanging out with Cole Sprouse.
As trolls fueled rumors that the 21-year-old CW star might be expecting, Reinhart had to take matters in her own hands. Instead of simply shutting down the trolls, however, the actress chose to seize the opportunity to send out a strong message on body positivity.
“It’s unfortunate that one unflattering photo of my stomach circulating the Internet causes hundreds of people to think that I’m pregnant. Nope. Not pregnant,” Reinhart said via her Instagram story, rubbishing the pregnancy talks.
The post read, "This is just my body. And sometimes I’m bloated. Sometimes an unflattering photo is taken of me. Sometimes I go through periods of time where I gain weight,” as per the People magazine, adding, "My body will constantly go through change. And so will yours. And that’s fine. So let’s not put so much time and effort into caring about a stranger’s figure.”
While this is certainly not the first time that Reinhart had to deal with rumor mills, it looks like her strong stand against the body shamers has struck a chord with many. And one of them is her Riverdale buddy Veronica.
Quoting her co-star, actress Camila Mendes, who stars as Archie's latest love interest on the show, not only supported Reinhart but also shared one of her personal experiences to discourage the trolls.
“I’ve suffered too much from my own self criticism and wasn’t sure that I could handle it from others. But seeing somebody as beautiful as Lili respond to public scrutiny by preaching and practicing self love is all it takes for me to overcome that fear. Proud to call her my friend. Let’s continue inspiring women to love their bodies," Mendes wrote.