Frankie Galton gives her take on the photos of Adele that uncovered the uglier side of celebrity culture after they kicked up a media storm…
Seven weeks into lockdown, and we are all bored out of our minds. Having binged everything on Netflix and started (then given up) a new fitness regime, all whilst avoiding our dreaded uni work (because we aren’t THAT bored yet) we are relying on snapshots into the lives of the rich and famous to keep us entertained. Which is why we seem to care so much about Adele’s weight loss transformation.
Sharing a grateful message to frontline workers on her 32nd birthday, the Hello singer also unveiled a dramatic weight loss, and essentially broke the internet, with the post getting over 11 million likes. Of course, she looks incredible. But responses have been mixed, with some fans calling it a “glow up”, whilst others see it as a betrayal of the “relatable” woman she was before. What I’m questioning, is what gives us the right to comment either way?
Arguably, a consequence of success is fame. Whilst some dream of becoming TikTok or Instagram famous, it is moments like this that highlight the scrutiny celebrities face every single day. We don’t know her. We don’t know how, or why she worked to lose weight. It could have been motivated by anything. And why is it our business anyway? She is still the same woman, the same insanely successful singer, who has 15 Grammy Awards for the work she has done. So why are we so obsessed with the way she looks? Before this, she received both hate for the way her body looked, and praise for “not caring” about the standards pushed by Hollywood. There is no way for her to win and she shouldn’t have to answer to us.
Why do we care what music artists look like? If we are listening to their music, their image shouldn’t matter but for some reason, there is an emphasis on how they “should” look. After all, when launching a singer’s career, their record label is trying to sell not just them, but their brand. Which means that often, the most authentic versions of people can get lost along the way. There is a pressure for music artists, particularly women, to change themselves, and conceal their imperfections. Sure, we have body positivity messages coming from singers like Lizzo, but only certain types of women are “allowed to be fat”.
In contrast, singer Jesy Nelson, who views herself as “the fat one in Little Mix”, received huge amounts of hate online, because she wasn’t the right type of fat. She wore the same outfits as her band members, but because she wasn’t a size 6 it wasn’t okay. It didn’t “look right”. Adele’s plus-size body was acceptable because she didn’t talk about it, because she kept it covered up, didn’t expose any stretch marks or “wobbly bits”, but she was also subject to the ever-changing opinions of the public.
Singer Lady Gaga has talked candidly about her experiences of hate and the way she was told that she was “too ugly” to be a successful singer. Yet, in 2019 she became the first person to win an Oscar, Grammy, Bafta and Golden Globe in the same year. 18-year-old Billie Eilish is criticised for her unconventional fashion choices, and called “talentless”, yet she is the youngest singer/songwriter to be writing a Bond song, and let’s not forget her wins at the Grammys earlier this year.
Little Mix’s Jesy Nelson has also been scrutinised for her weight (Image credit: The Sun)
It seems that when successful women are placed in the limelight, those who are bitter about it can’t help but voice negative opinions. Female musicians are constantly shamed and ridiculed for changes in their bodies. Some are deemed too fat, some too thin. There seems to be no winning for these artists, and the question is, why do we get an opinion? Size 6 or size 16, who cares? Have you ever read an article criticising Ed Sheeran’s fashion choices? Or changes to his body? For some reason, female artists are the centre of scrutiny. We all have opinions on how they should look, dress, and act. And this is affecting their lives more than we could possibly know.
So let’s wish a belated happy birthday to Adele. She’s an incredible artist and should be recognised for so much more than her body. Whether you personally rate her new look, or prefer how she looked before, is up to you. But let’s all just recognise her talent above all else.
By Frankie Galton
Feature Image Credit: The Australian, Just Jared