Singer Sam Smith Details Struggles With Body Image Issues: ‘I Have Starved Myself For Weeks’

Sam Smith is the latest celebrity to come forward and talk about the pressures of Hollywood and maintaining a perfect body.

Earlier today, the singer took to his Instagram to share a photo along with a lengthy and heartfelt post. In the picture itself, Smith stands in the middle of the beach, wearing only a pair of jeans and no shirt. He has a serious look on his face as he stares into the camera and stands barefoot.

In the caption of the post, Sam tells his followers that in the past, whenever he has done photo shoots with so much as a T-shirt on, he has starved himself for weeks prior to the shoot. But even after the photos were taken, Smith says that he would “poke” and “prod” at every picture before eventually taking them down. Now, the “Stay With Me” singer says that he is fighting back.

“Reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally,” he wrote. “Some may take this as narcissistic and showing off but if you knew how much courage it took to do this and the body trauma I have experienced as a kid you wouldn’t think those things”

To end the post, he thanks photographer Ryan Pflunger for helping him celebrate his body for what it is. He says that he has never felt safer in front of a camera as he did when he was with Ryan. And though he claims that he will always be in a war with the mirror, the photo proves that he has finally taken a step in the right direction.

So far, Sam’s 11-million-plus Instagram followers have already given the brave image and post a lot of attention with over 618,000 likes in addition to 11,000 comments and growing by the second. Most fans commented on the photo to let Smith know that despite the struggles that he has faced, he still looks amazing. Countless other fans took the opportunity to let the 26-year-old know that he is not alone and they have dealt with similar things.

“Why change when you can be beautiful?”

“The world needs more people like you Sam,” another follower wrote.

“You brilliant and beautiful man!! Good on you for your strength and thank you for giving us the best music,” another chimed in.

Clearly, Sam’s post had a profound impact on a lot of people and it’s just another reason why he is so well-liked by his legion of fans.