Madison Beer Talks Impact Of Body Shaming Comments On Her Eating Habit

Madison Beer bravely opens up about the devastating effects of body shaming on her.

The singer rose to fame in 2012 after pop star Justin Bieber shared a link to one of her covers. However, along with her success in the music industry came scrutiny from the public, which has led to the star being targeted with unsavory comments on social media.

Looking back at the time she gained viral fame at a young age, she recalls how the sudden exposure led to people knocking on her door that night, all vying for an interview. Despite the excitement, the young star quickly learned about the darker side of fame and the impact that online hate can have. 

In an interview with TODAY's Donna Farizan, the 24-year-old spoke candidly about the public scrutiny, bullying, and harassment she has faced since then. Admitting to her struggles with body dysmorphia, the songwriter shared that she has been having difficulty lately because "many people impacted me so negatively about my body when I was younger."

The "Dangerous" singer explained, "I grew up pretty happy. I thought I had a nice body. But hearing endless comments about how I don't was really hurtful to me when I was so young."

According to Mayo Clinic, body dysmorphia is a mental health disorder that causes a person to obsess over a perceived defect or flaw in their appearance. The "Louder Than Words" actress revealed that she has been restricting her food intake recently and was not eating enough.

On top of that, during this challenging time, she came across a hurtful comment on social media that read, "Someone needs to tell her to stop eating and put the fork down." Beer expressed her thoughts on the matter, saying:

"I'm getting to a place where I'm feeling more confident, but it does suck, and it is really hurtful when people have no idea what you're going through behind closed doors." 

Despite the challenges, she encouraged her younger fans to limit their screen time, believing "life is concise." In addition, she also shared her views on how society needs to move forward and stop being quick to cancel and pull each other down.

During an appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, the "Todrick" star shared some of the most challenging moments of her life, including her struggles with the public exposure of her nude photos and videos and her suicide. 

As reported by The Blast, when she was only 15 years old, her nude video was leaked online and spread rapidly. Although she tried to move forward, the incident had a lasting impact on her, and she opened up on the podcast about how the memory still affects her.

The "Melodies" singer disclosed that the intimate contents were taken when she was only 13 or 14. She explained that she had sent the videos to a boy she liked who was traveling between Los Angeles and her hometown. 

Furthermore, she also suspected he was using an app to record the Snapchat videos she had sent him. The "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" guest judge elaborated:

"I just didn't think the person I was sending this stuff to would remotely ever think to do something like that because this was someone I'd known my whole life. I was wrong."

The "Good Mythical Morning" guest star revealed that by 2019, the burden of remembering how she was sexually abused at a young age and the leak led her to self-harm and suicidal thoughts. 

She also attempted suicide twice – the first time at 16- but was grateful it was unsuccessful. She relieved the experience in her memoir "The Half of It." An excerpt from the book, obtained by PEOPLE, recounts how she stood on her balcony and considered jumping off. 

Beer shared, "I don't think I would have jumped. It was more about knowing I could— I had a way out if it became too much. Still, I lingered there for a long while, chilled by the fact that I wasn't all that scared of being up so high."