‘Degrassi’ Star Speaks Out After Seeing Criticisms of Her Appearance

Degrassi: The Next Generation star Miriam McDonald is speaking out after seeing “critiques” about her appearance in the new trailer for Degrassi: Whatever It Takes.

After the first look at the upcoming documentary that takes another look at the beloved Canadian teen drama dropped on Wednesday, the actress, who played Emma Nelson, took to Instagram to address comments that had been made about her face.

“I’ve been sitting with how to put this into words, so I’m just going to be honest,” she began. “When I watched the documentary back, I didn’t feel good about how I looked. About a month or two before filming (which was almost two years ago now), I had Botox and filler done. Looking back, I regret that choice.”

“Like many people who try cosmetic treatments, I wasn’t feeling ‘perfect.’ I saw little things I wanted to fix—lines when I frowned, under-eye hollowness, even wanting to try lip filler because ‘everyone else was doing it,’” she continued. “But what I thought would help ended up leaving me looking less like myself. When I first saw the footage, I told myself, ‘no one will even notice, Miriam, they’ll be focused on the story.’ I was wrong.”

Calling her decision to get Botox and filler “a lapse in judgment,” McDonald said that “thankfully” the effects wear off over time, but “interviews live forever online, and that version of me is now out there to stay.”

Addressing what people have been saying about her appearance in the trailer, McDonald confessed, “I’d be lying if I said the comments don’t sting.”

She continued, “I may have once been an actress, but I don’t live in that world anymore. I don’t have a thick Hollywood skin—I’m just a person. And the truth is, hearing critiques about how I look hurts just as much as it would hurt your sister, your daughter, or your friend.”

Growing up on camera, McDonald said the “scrutiny” she faced has continued into her adulthood. “Ironically, the very things I tried to ‘fix’ with Botox and filler only magnified what I was insecure about,” she wrote. “I’m embarrassed to admit that in an era of ‘self-love,’ I didn’t have much of it for myself in that moment.”

Now, McDonald said she’s learned, “I’d rather embrace my frown lines than look like I’ve had ‘too much Botox.’ I’d rather own my imperfections than keep chasing ‘fixes.’” She added, “I’m still a work in progress, but I’m learning, and I’m grateful.”

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McDonald said she was “glad” to share her experience if it can serve as “a cautionary tale” for someone else or remind them “that perfection isn’t found in changing ourselves but in owning who we are.”

“Thank you for hearing me, for the kindness so many of you have shown, and for reminding me what actually matters,” she concluded.

Degrassi: Whatever It Takes makes its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 13.