Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Beyoncé admits she was once body shamed for weight gain - here's how she reacted

The Destiny's Child star responded in the best way

beyonce
Bridie Wilkins
Senior Health & Fitness Writer
Share this:

Beyoncé keeps much of her private life tightly under wraps, but in a recent interview, she made a seriously surprising admission about her weight.

Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, she revealed that back in her Destiny's Child days, she was body shamed for her weight.

SEE: Beyoncé & Jay-Z's $90m megamansion is in a league of its own

WATCH: Beyonce's best kept secrets revealed

"I remember when I started hearing people criticise me after I had put on some weight. I was 19," she explained. Outrageous, we know.

But Beyonce didn't sit back and just take it – she turned it into a positive.

MORE: Beyonce reveals secret room inside home with Jay Z

beyonce destinys child© Photo: Getty Images

Beyonce during a Destiny's Child performance in 2001

"None of the sample clothes fit me. I was feeling a bit insecure from hearing some of the comments, and I woke up one day and refused to feel sorry for myself, so I wrote 'Bootylicious'. It was the beginning of me using whatever life handed me and turning it into something empowering to other women and men who were struggling with the same thing," she said.

On the topic of keeping her home life out of the spotlight, she added: "In this business, so much of your life does not belong to you unless you fight for it. I’ve fought to protect my sanity and my privacy because the quality of my life depended on it. A lot of who I am is reserved for the people I love and trust.

RELATED: Beyonce opens up about motherhood and the love she has for her children

beyonce jay z© Photo: Getty Images

Beyonce is married to Jay Z

"Those who don’t know me and have never met me might interpret that as being closed off. Trust, the reason those folks don’t see certain things about me is because my Virgo ass does not want them to see it.... It’s not because it doesn’t exist!"

Bey did, however, go on to give fans a tiny insight into another part of her private life: how she winds down.

"I discovered CBD on my last tour," she said. "And I’ve experienced its benefits for soreness and inflammation. It helped with my restless nights and the agitation that comes from not being able to fall asleep."

Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

More Health & Fitness

See more