Reese Witherspoon’s Daughter Ava Phillippe Claps Back at Body Shaming

Reese Witherspoon’s 24-year-old daughter Ava Phillippe just had a run-in with some body-shamers on social media, but she put the remarks in context when she responded. Ava posted a video on TikTok on Saturday where she applied bright red lipstick, then defiantly ran it across her cheek. As “Just A Girl” played, the on-screen text laid out Ava’s thoughts on the matter.

“[No big deal] but I just achieved a major milestone as a woman online, she wrote alongside the video. “I saw 2 different strangers commenting on my body. The first said I should get on [Ozempic] because I’m too fat. The second accused me of starving myself because I’m too thin. My weight did not change in the time period between their comments. (& it wouldn’t be any of their business if it did!) It’s such bulls-. No one deserves to be picked apart for what they look like. You don’t always know what someone’s gone through or what they struggle with. But no matter who you are… Your beauty exceeds superficial measures.”

In the caption, Ava added: “Pretty is as pretty does, babes… & bodyshaming is simply toxic behavior” with a lipstick emoji.

Just last month, Ava elaborated on the idiom she used her. In an interview with PEOPLE, she said: “A big saying in the South, especially amongst women is ‘Pretty is as pretty does.’ Every time that comes up in my brain or I see people being critical of others online for their appearance, I just always think, you’re only as beautiful as you treat other people. I think that you glow from within when you’re a good person.”

She attributed that lesson to her mother, who was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and has said that she had a “definitive Southern upbringing.” Witherspoon met actor Ryan Phillippe in 1997 at her own 21st birthday party, and they got married in 1999. Ava was their first child, born on Sept. 9, 1999, and followed by her younger brother Deacon Reese on Oct. 23, 2003. Witherspoon and Phillippe divorced in 2008 but maintained joint custody of their children.

Ava’s post not only addressed the social issue of body shaming, but the current surge of interest in the diabetes medication Ozempic. The drug was approved to treat diabetes in 2017, but starting in 2021 the FDA approved it to treat obesity in some cases as well, using the brand name Wegovy. Both drugs have the active ingredient semaglitude, and more like it are on the way, but there are some health concerns raised in a report by The New York Times that may come to light if the drugs find more widespread use. If nothing else, doctors said that the drug should be used for critical medical needs only, not “vanity.”