‘Pretty Little Liars’ Star Sasha Pieterse Fires Back At Body Shamers

Pretty Little Liars star Sasha Pieterse is facing some extreme changes in her body physique, as many fans have already noticed in seeing her television presence transformed in recent seasons of the Freeform series. Early last year, Pieterse addressed the changes in her body, which were responsible for her weight gain, but that hasn’t silenced critics or lessened the body shaming Sasha has received from the online community. In a second attempt to calm the waters, the Pretty Little Liars actress again tries to explain her weight gain and asks for understanding from fans.

Pretty Little Liars Star Sasha Pieterse Addresses Her Body Shamers

There has been no concealing the extreme weight gain Sasha Pieterse has undergone over the past year and even the bulky dresses worn on Pretty Little Liars couldn’t hide the fact that the actress, who plays Alison DiLaurentis on the series, has gained weight. As Xpose reports, Sasha has previously addressed the issue in public posts on her social media accounts, revealing to fans that the weight gain is a result of a hormone imbalance and that she’s currently undergoing treatment to fix the problem, but that hasn’t silenced the body shamers.

In fact, the insulting remarks have become so harsh and frequent that Pieterse has again posted a reply on her Instagram account, pleading with the public to try to understand her situation.

“I think truly loving yourself is one of the hardest things we as humans can do,” Sasha begins the in-depth caption on her latest Instagram post. “We live in a society that literally profits from our self doubt and insecurities. Women in particular are judged by their looks wether (sic) they are in the spotlight or not.”

Pieterse openly admits to having had problems with her weight all through her childhood and teen years but says a change in her diet and regular exercise helped her to manage her weight. The problem reasserted itself recently when a sudden hormone imbalance caused the Pretty Little Liars actress to gain back the weight she had previously lost. Sasha says in the post that many of her fans have been supportive, but adds that some fans were angry over her weight gain and were even infuriated further when she tried to explain about her hormone imbalance.

“It disturbed me that so many females were so quick to tear me down on a subject that we all struggle with,” Ms. Pieterse writes.

In closing her message, Sasha reveals her own strategy for dealing with critics and offers words of advice and encouragement for fans who might be dealing with bullies in their own lives.

“Do not lower yourself to people who refuse to grow higher. If you don’t love yourself you’ll continue to chase people who don’t love you either. Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself.”

Sasha Pieterse Shared Her Medical Condition With Fans Before She Gained Weight

It wasn’t much more than a year ago that People magazine reported on Sasha Pieterse’s first public statement regarding her hormone imbalance, and that statement was made before the Pretty Little Liars star’s weight gain became pronounced enough to draw attention. Believing honesty was the best policy, Sasha told fans in the statement that she had received the diagnosis of the hormone imbalance and thanked those fans who had offered her support and showed concern for the actress’ condition.

“We live in such a judge mental society that puts every kind of flaw, including weight gain, in the same category,” Pieterse wrote in that first statement. “And for those of you who are struggling with any health problem, hormone imbalance, and weight gain of any sort I urge and encourage you to please deal with it in a healthy [manner]. YOU and YOUR health are what matters, not anyone else’s opinions and assumptions of you.”

While we all go through changes as we age, Sasha had been cast in Pretty Little Liars at the age of 12, so puberty has also played a part in the changes Pieterse has gone through, as she’s been in seen from season to season on the show.

[Image by Mike Windle/Getty Images for The Lopez Foundation]