The 'Star Wars' hero stood up to an Internet critic who slammed her for being slender and setting 'unrealistic expectations.'
Daisy Ridley is fighting back against body shaming.
The 23-year-old English actress responded to on a meme posted to Instagram slamming her casting in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The post, which featured a still-frame image of her Star Wars character, Rey, criticized Ridley for setting "unrealistic expectations" for young girls due to her slender physique, adding "real women have curves."
Ridley responded to the critic's comments by posting a screengrab of the insult, under which she wrote, "'Real women' are all shapes and sizes, all ethnicities, all levels of brave, have families, don't have families. I am a 'real women' like every other woman in this world."
Ridley soon deleted the post, which contained the username of the body-shaming commenter in question, after her fans apparently sent her critic a slew of hateful messages. She soon posted a lengthy editorial to Instagram, standing by her original comments but in a way that wouldn't lead to an attack on any other users.
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The actress wrote in the caption to the open letter, "Guys it was not my intention for anyone to send messages to that poor person that posted the original picture. My
whole post is about being kind to each other, so please refrain!"
In her brief essay, Ridley addressed her celebrated character and defended Rey's position as a role model.
"People who relate to something in Rey they haven't found in a female character before. People who's daughters now think they can do things without the aid of a man, but who wouldn’t be ashamed to ask for help," Ridley wrote.
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She also defended herself and her appearance, writing, "I'm just a normal girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances, just like Rey. I will not apologize for how I look, what I say and how I live my life cause what's happening inside is much more important anyway and I am striving to be the best version of myself, even if I stumble along the way."
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"For anyone who has a problem with ANYONE in life, be them someone you know or someone you don't, remember that expression: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all," Ridley concluded. "Kindness isn't going to cure the world of all its awfulness but it's a good place to begin."
Recently, Ridley opened up with ET about going back to work on the next installment in the Star Wars franchise and the film's new director, Rian Johnson. Check out the video below to hear more.
