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Home / Lifestyle

Sports Illustrated model told she has 'legs like a man'

By Hannah Paine
news.com.au·
28 Aug, 2020 10:17 PM3 mins to read

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Sports Illustrated model Emily DiDonato. Photo / Instagram

Sports Illustrated model Emily DiDonato. Photo / Instagram

With more than two million Instagram followers and a modelling career that has included working for Sports Illustrated and Vogue, you'd think Emily DiDonato would get lots of compliments.

But the 29-year-old has opened up about the "tough and weird feedback" she has received after more than a decade working in the modelling industry.

In a video posted to TikTok, DiDonato revealed how she had been told she had "legs like a man" and was "too happy" and should smile less as "you will look cooler".

View this post on Instagram

Sharing exactly how I ate leading up to my @si_swimsuit shoot with all of you! 🥦 👙 Link in BIO for the full free guide! ❤️

A post shared by Emily DiDonato (@emilydidonato) on Aug 3, 2020 at 12:17pm PDT

Other comments were more harsh, such as "I can't shoot her when she's fat like this" and being told: "Don't leave your hotel. Someone might see you and know that you've gained weight."

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DiDonato ended the video by saying that "just because someone says something mean about you that doesn't mean that it's true".

Her video got plenty of comments from other models, many of whom said they had been told similar hurtful things.

"I heard similar when I was modelling. It's crazy to think they would say those things at all but it happens all the time," one person wrote.

View this post on Instagram

Soaking up these last few days of summer 😫

A post shared by Emily DiDonato (@emilydidonato) on Aug 24, 2020 at 9:23am PDT

"I once got told it's going to be 'awkward to explain to designers' that I can't shrink BONE to get my measurements done," another commented.

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But others were stunned, saying it was "so sad" to hear how "toxic" the modelling industry could be sometimes.

"I feel like the modelling industry is so toxic. Do what you love and still always stay true to yourself," one person commented.

"It's important for everyone to realise that mean comments don't define you – even gorgeous models deal with negativity," another wrote.

Despite her success working for big brands like Victoria's Secret and Chanel, DiDonato has been open about her struggles in the industry.

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In a YouTube video last year, she revealed how modelling agencies had criticised her for being "too curvy, too big and too athletic" when she moved to New York at 18.

View this post on Instagram

There’s no avoiding the short format vertical videos that sometimes incorporate dancing. 😂 Sharing a few tips and tricks that I use to create all of IG Reels and TikToks. Are you team Reels Or TikTok or neither?!

A post shared by Emily DiDonato (@emilydidonato) on Aug 25, 2020 at 1:22pm PDT

The feedback caused her weight to drop drastically as she became "obsessed" and thought "to be successful is to be thin".

Her drastic weight loss made her depressed and caused agencies to give her more negative feedback by complaining that she "doesn't look super healthy".

DiDonato has since gained back the weight she lost "and then some" and is now happy with her body, even if she has to remind herself of it sometimes.

"I catch myself still – and I would catch myself then – being like, 'You're fat, you're disgusting, you don't even look like a model, your legs are disgusting, what model looks like that, no one's going to want to shoot me like this,'" she said, according to People.

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