The cotton ball diet is, sadly, still a thing. Eddie Murphy’s daughter, Bria talked about the pressure to stay thin and elaborated on the extreme methods models use to stay thin in an interview for “Good Morning America”. The 23-year-old model, who dreams about becoming a Victoria’s Secret Angel one day, unveiled the ugly parts of modeling we don’t often hear about.
One of them is that models use cotton balls dipped in orange juice to stay full: ‘I’ve heard of people eating the cotton balls with the orange juice … they dip it in the orange juice and then they eat the cotton balls to help them feel full. The cotton’s not doing anything. It’s just dissolving. And it makes you think you’re full, but you’re not’, she stated during the show. Model Sessilee Lopez’s mom, Janice Celeste, Amy Lemons or Russian model Kira Dikhtyar are just a few voices that made similar claims in the past three years.
The main reason why models turn to such extreme, unhealthy diets and engage in such risky behaviors, according to the star? The pressure to be perfect: “Lots of girls get addicted to drugs and anorexia, it’s – there’s a whole list of things, because it’s a lot of pressure to be perfect.” The industry is a highly competitive one and can definitely have a detrimental effect to one’s self-esteem.
Like any model trying to make her way into the industry, Bria experienced such thing first hand: ‘It’s your job to go into a room … and some people will just say no without an explanation, and some will be like, “Oh, your nose is too big. Your butt’s too big. Oh, your legs are flabby.” Like, they’ll just go on you, “Oh, you need to tighten that up.”
Despite being the daughter of an A-list celeb, standing confidently into the spotlight isn’t something that came natural to her, especially since she was quite shy as a child. As time passed, however, she developed defensive mechanisms which helped her cope. She learned not to take rejections personally and even began giving herself pep talks like: “Bria, you can’t want to model and not want to be out there in – be the center of attention. So you’ve got to get over your little fears of putting yourself out there”.
Even so, she is not immune to the constant pressures from the industry: ‘I’m a small girl naturally, but I can gain weight. And I’m going through little hormonal changes and my body’s changing and I’m like, “Oh my God, I’m gaining weight this week, I’m losing weight next week,”‘ she candidly admitted.
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Photos: PR Photos
