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At the first-ever Beacher Vitality Happy & Healthy Summit in Los Angeles, Kelly Osbourne, now 40, got very real about how painful and damaging body shaming has been in her life. Best known for her time on reality TV and as a sharp-tongued co-host on Fashion Police, Kelly didn’t hold back as she described how people judged her more for her weight than for anything else, even her past battles with addiction.
“We live in a world that fears fat,” she said, according to People. “I’ve been a drug addict. I’ve been an alcoholic. I’ve been a total mess, rude, mean, awful to people. But still, I got more hate for being fat than for any of that. Isn’t that wild?” Her words hit hard, showing just how brutally society treats people who don’t fit its narrow beauty standards, and how deep those scars can run.
Kelly went on to say that every article about her used to mention her body, often ignoring her personal struggles completely. She remembered backhanded compliments like: “You’re so pretty… if only you lost a little weight, you’d be perfect.” Comments like that sound polite on the surface, but are actually incredibly hurtful, reminding her again and again that she wasn’t good enough.
But her weight-loss journey wasn’t just about changing how she looked. It was also about healing emotionally and mentally. Kelly explained that she tried everything, surgery, pills, diets, and workouts. Nothing worked long-term until she focused on what was going on in her mind. “I had to get my head in the right place. Once I did that, everything else started falling into place,” she said. Her point? Losing weight isn’t just about calories and crunches — it’s about learning to accept yourself first and taking care of your mental health.
Kelly Osbourne talks about weight loss journey
In 2020, she publicly shared that she had gastric sleeve surgery, and even called it “the best thing I’ve ever done” on the Hollywood Raw podcast. But she also stressed that the surgery wasn’t a quick fix. “If you don’t eat right or exercise, you’ll gain the weight back. It’s just a tool, it helps you move in the right direction,” she said. She even spent a full year in therapy before going under the knife to make sure she was ready for the changes.
Kelly also talked about how her addiction struggles were often overshadowed by conversations about her weight. She got sober for the first time in 2017, relapsed in 2021, and eventually got sober again. Her issues with substances began at just 13 years old, after having her tonsils removed and being prescribed opioids, a story that’s sadly all too common.
Her story is a reminder of just how twisted public judgment can be. People barely blinked at her darkest moments with addiction, but they had plenty to say about her body. Through it all, Kelly is showing that healing isn’t just about losing pounds; it’s about building strength from the inside out.