Anyone who was on the internet in 2017 knows of the Vlog Squad, a group of friends led by the head creator, David Dobrik. The squad released a lot of content throughout the year, constantly growing in popularity across all platforms.
One member of the squad, Natalie Mariduena, more popularly known as Natalie Noel, joined the group originally as Dobrik’s assistant. She is now more famously recognized as a fellow member and friend of Dobrik.
A few weeks ago, Noel went on social media to reveal that she had lost 30 pounds in the span of six months. She looked great either way and was even previously featured in Sports Illustrated as a swimwear model.
Although it is quite obvious that Noel is content with her transformation, her fans are not. Under her original post featuring before and after pictures, there are several comments noting the dislike of her new figure. User @vvsblessedd commented, “ngl you looked better before,” and @v.a.i.k added “Nah we liked the old one.”
There are countless remarks just like these two, belittling Noel and her weight loss. Others are even attacking her, arguing that she is portraying an unhealthy, unachievable lifestyle for her fans. User @jordynpuente wrote underneath the post, “for anyone seeing this and feeling bad about themselves – know that these people are privileged in that they can [dedicate] countless hours to training, they pay for their meals to be prepped, and they have a plethora of other resources at their fingertips.”
While I agree with this, I do not believe that people should be attacking Noel for something that she has the right to do. When asked about her weight loss, she told People Magazine that she “wasn’t taking care of [her] body,” and “could barely run,” adding that her “overall health was not great.”
Due to how she was feeling, she said that she “wanted to see what [she] could push [her] body to do, and what [she] could accomplish if [she] did make [her] health and fitness [her] No. 1 priority.” That is completely her right, regardless of her online influence.
Even if Noel wanted to lose weight for other reasons, she should not be receiving backlash. It is her body and she has the right to do whatever she chooses with it. People beg their favorite celebrities and influencers to be real on the internet, but the second they do, they receive hate.
It seems like these days people in the spotlight cannot do anything without upsetting others. We’ve been seeing this a lot more recently, especially with influencers like Charli D’Amelio and Alix Earle. It honestly makes no sense to me how people can be so irritated about something that doesn’t concern them.
There is so much more to worry about than someone else’s weight. There is so much more to be angry about than the way someone who has the resources chooses to use those resources. I’m sure if you had the money Noel has, you’d hire a personal trainer too if you wanted one. I know I would.
ajones11@ramapo.edu
Photo courtesy of Pixabay, Pexels
