Siera Bearchell opens up about the hate she received in the spotlight.
Over the weekend, the 29-year-old former Miss Universe Canada took to Instagram to open up about parties, trolls and body shaming with her 174,000 followers.
In the post, the beauty pageant titleholder shared photos of her competing in Miss Universe along with examples of derogatory comments she has received about her body in the caption.
“Fat. Whale. Miss Piggy. Fat. Disgusting. I will never forget the thousands of comments thrown at me. People from all over the world trying to tell me that my body was not worthy to step on the Miss Universe stage ,” she wrote. “Fellow contestants later posted that they were eating donuts and said they would have placed if they were ‘as fat as Miss Canada.'”
However, the model and entrepreneur didn’t let the hate stop her from being an advocate for body positivity and self-love.
“I rose above the hate to share that size is not a measure of worth. Size is not a measure of leadership. And size is certainly not a measure of who you are as a person,” the mother of two explained. I am eternally grateful for [Miss Universe] organization to believe that beauty exceeds size.”
Bearchell went on to thank the pageant judges for placing her “at the top [nine] among 86 countries,” which is Canada’s highest and only ranking in 10 years.
“Let this be your sign to believe in yourself, even if others may not,” she concluded.
On her Instagram story, the law graduate revealed that she is “on the fence” about putting pageant content behind her, referring to an Instagram live where the Calgary-based content creator said that “Miss Universe has never crowned a woman over a certain size.”
“This is absolutely true and all you have to do is Google ‘Miss Universe Crownings’ and you will see that there is not a single woman over a size 4/6. It is what it is. People have completely misrepresented , what I said and am taking it as criticism of the previous title holder,” she explained.
Bearchell added that she’s tired of the constant negativity that’s starting to wear her down, while sharing another vicious comment that called her “disgusting” and “not an inspiration.”
“I’m just so tired of the trolls and so-called supporters trying to bring people down. I’m very grateful for the support that is out there. Sometimes the criticism is just too much and overwhelming,” the activist wrote. “…trying to let go of what I can’t control,” she added in another story.
In the comments of her post, fans rushed to Bearchell’s side, calling her “an inspiration.”
“You paved the way, thanks for your vote,” one follower commented.
“You are also an inspiration to the underdogs! And you are forever a queen to us!” shared another.
“I started following you because I finally felt like someone was real and it’s been an honor ever since,” added another.
“You are powerful and beautiful and your body is just part of the big picture! You my friend are a true example,” wrote one fan.
Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
