(Getty Images)
Kylie Jenner says being bullied over her appearance has made her “hide” and “cry,” and “resulted in a lot of anxiety.” She adds in an Instagram post that having her every move documented has “been a nightmare.” The revelations stem from one of Jenner’s “I Am More Than” stories that she posted on Friday about Lizzie Velasquez, who suffers from a rare disease that makes it impossible for her to gain body fat, including in her face.
Jenner, who’s been posting on Instagram a week-long anti-bullying campaign, which even helped a boy get a homecoming date, shared on Friday the story of Lizzie Velasquez, a 26-year-old who nine years ago was called “the world’s ugliest woman” in a YouTube video. After noting that fewer than 10 people have Velasquez’s disease, Jenner explains that the condition “impedes [Velasquez] from accumulating body fat; she literally has zero percent body fat and has never weighed more than 64 pounds.”
“Throughout her entire life, this condition has resulted in a lot of #bullying. It is so unacceptable to treat people like this,” writes Jenner on Instagram, along with a photo of Velasquez (below). The reality star then turns it personal and says, “People are so quick to say horrible things about me everyday over and over and sometimes I can’t take it. Even I at times get affected by it, I breakdown, I hide, I cry. It’s resulted in a lot of anxiety for me that I’ve never had to deal with before ever.”
Jenner adds, “My every move has been documented for the whole world and it’s been a nightmare trying to find myself through all of this. And I’ve absolutely lost a part of myself.” But she notes Velasquez’s strength has helped her, too. Jenner writes, “Lizzie has taken that negative energy and has turned it around by traveling around the world doing motivational speeches. When I asked her what the key messages were of her speeches, she told me that ‘Most importantly I try to convey that all you need to have is a brave heart to accomplish whatever you want to achieve. Let the negative build you up instead of knocking you down. You are enough no matter what; you were put on this earth for a reason.’”
After publicizing an upcoming documentary about Velasquez, Jenner concludes that her new friend has been using a “lifetime full of bullying to help teach the world #IAmMoreThan the names they call me. #ImWithLizzie and Lizzie taught me #IAmMoreThan who I think I am… Let’s change this together. I love you Lizzie!”
(Instagram/Kylie Jenner)
