Valerie Bertinelli is feeling a little extra grateful for her fans. In early July, the Food Network star sparked a conversation about body shaming when she shared an emotional video in response to a troll who mocked her weight. The video was met with an outpouring of support from her followers, with Bertinelli returning to the social media platform just a day later with a message of gratitude.
Captioned “thank you thank you thank you,” the video showed Bertinelli expressing her gratitude for the words of support and encouragement she received. In the short clip, the former Touched by an Angel star, 61, said that despite the harsh words of that one internet troll, there is still “so much kindness out there” and she does not “feel so alone anymore.” According to Bertinelli, “it’s the shame part that’s really hard to get rid of. That stupid emotion that is absolutely useless. But I just wanted to say thank you.” After the emotional message, the star tried to end the video on a humorous note, quipping that it’s time to “get back to me posting some delicious recipes…Let’s have a really f–king great day today, you guys.”
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The video message came just hours after Bertinelli shared a July 8 video after she made the “mistake” of reading through her social media comments and came across one criticizing her weight. Bertinelli said the comment was from someone who “decided to point out that I needed to lose weight,” the Food Network star going on to state, “Because see, I don’t have a scale or I don’t have clothes that I’m trying to put on every day, and I don’t have mirrors so I don’t see what’s become of me. So I needed that help to let me know that I need to lose weight.”
Bertinelli went on to say that if she could lose the weight and keep it off, she “would,” but she has not “been successful with that my whole entire life… at 61, I’m still dealing with [it]. You think I’m not tired of it, lady?” The Valerie’s Home Cooking star asked where the compassion was, adding that the comment was “not f—ing helpful.” In the post caption, she asked, “Aren’t we tired of body shaming women yet?!”
The video prompted dozens of comments. Bertinelli’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, told his mother that she is “perfect the way you are.” Demi Lovato, who has been open about her own body image struggles, added, “you said it yourself, you’re already enough AND whoever said that is hurting.. or not being shown enough compassion in their lives.” As the comments continued to pour in, Bertinelli also addressed her past as a Jenny Craig spokesperson, responding to one person by admitting, “I became a part of the problem.”
