International Women’s Day may be over, but that doesn’t mean we should stop celebrating women. I’m talking to you, internet trolls — especially a certain individual who called out British actress Daisy Ridley for being too thin and setting “unrealistic expectations” that could lead young impressionable girls to believe that real women don’t have curves. The since-deleted meme features a picture of Ridley’s Star Wars character Rey with speech bubble that reads: “I can’t believe the unrealistic expectations I’m setting for young girls. Who cast me anyway? Don’t they know real women have curves?” Ridley didn’t take it lying down.
Taking to Instagram, Daisy clarified the fact that “‘Real women’ are all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, all levels of brave. I am a ‘real woman’ like every other woman in this world… I will not apologize for how I look, what I say and how I live my life cause what’s happening inside is much more important anyway and I am striving to be the best version of myself, even if I stumble along the way.” In another post, she warned fans against the perils of trolling, after some of them took aim at the initial body-shamer. “Remember that expression, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Kindness isn’t going to cure the world of all its awfulness but it’s a good place to begin.”