Ziggy Astoni actress “cried for days” over cruel bikini comments.
Sophie Dillman, an ex-Home and Away performer, has spoken out about body shaming, stating that she was bullied over her appearance while working on the show.
The actress, who quit her role as Ziggy Astoni after six years on the show in March this year, said in her Yahoo Lifestyle Australia column that she was ‘virtually sure’ to be asked in interviews how she felt about wearing a bikini on film.
“This question has a lot of layers, and my answer changed constantly throughout my time in the Bay and is still changing today,” she explained, adding that “physically working in a bikini is simple” and no different than wearing any other costume.
She did, however, clarify that “the emotional aspects of being in a bikini on primetime television is the tough bit,” admitting that she was one of the only cast members who was asked this question on a frequent basis in her experience.
“This tells me that the public perception was that I shouldn’t feel good in a bikini or that I shouldn’t wear a bikini at all,” she explained. “None of the straight-sized actors/actresses have their self-esteem or worth called into question.” “What does that imply?”
She went on to explain that she “hated wearing a bikini” and thought it was “the scariest thing” about her work, stating she was “dying inside” the first time she had to wear one on film.
“Our lovely makeup artist advised me not to look for pap photos or read the accompanying articles.” “Of course, I disregarded that advice,” she went on. “I found those photos and cried for days.”
The actress, who is in a real-life relationship with her former Home and Away co-star Patrick O’Connor, described the teasing as “awful and endless,” with “articles written about my boobs being too big” and people “constantly” asking whether she was pregnant.
“The effect that those comments and articles had on my self-esteem still affects me to this day,” she added, adding that thinking about her younger self helped her get through the tough times.
“I started thinking about 10-year-old Sophie, who grew up in the 1990s and saw Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera as ‘healthy,'” she explained. “Perhaps she wouldn’t have grown up to feel this way about being in a bikini on television if she could have watched someone who ate pizza and loved her body and surfed without being self-conscious.”
“So, on tough days, I focused on little Soph and strutted up the beach for her.”
The actress concluded her column by sharing the pride that she has in her body now, saying: “I love that my body is strong, tough and healthy. I love that I can swim, run, dance, sing, act, play and laugh. I can do those things regardless of what I look like.”
“Aren’t we bored of talking about bodies yet? Can we focus on something more important?” she added.
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