EARLIER THIS WEEK, former Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, Sarah Michelle Gellar, inadvertently sparked a heated debate on what constitutes an offensive social media post, and perhaps more specifically, what constitutes body-shaming.

Birdie Thompson Birdie Thompson

After uploading a series of photos of herself in lingerie, which were taken over a decade ago, the actress said she would be using them as a reminder ‘not to overeat’ at Thanksgiving.

Backlash was swift, with a number of Instagram users accusing Sarah of contributing to a negative narrative on body image, as well as perpetuating the notion that indulgence is something to be consistently avoided.

sarahmgellar / Instagram sarahmgellar / Instagram / Instagram

I’m just going to pin these up all over my house as a reminder not to overeat on Thursday.

Following the controversy, the actress released a statement acknowledging the criticism levelled at her, saying ‘it wasn’t her intention’ to shame anyone.

It’s come to my attention that some people think I was ‘fat shaming’ with this post. That could not be further from my intentions.

Elaborating on her thought process prior to sharing the photos, she continued:

“I love Thanksgiving and unfortunately my eyes are often bigger than my stomach, and I tend to eat so much I make myself sick. This was a joking reminder to myself not to do that.

The 41-year-old explained that the post was simply an attempt at humour, which appeared to backfire.

I’m terribly sorry that people were offended by my attempt at humour. Anyone that knows me, knows I would never intentionally “shame” any one on any basis. I am a champion of all people.

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