Jonah Hill Spoke Out About Body Image And Shirtless Photos Of Him On Instagram

Weight loss and body image are huge topics in celebrity culture, often for very troubling reasons like body shaming. But Jonah Hill was celebrated on social media for a response he had to an online story about photos of him shirtless. Hill was recently featured in a Daily Mail story this week that included photos of him shirtless after a surfing session.

Hill has had a number of stories circulate about his weight loss and gain over the years, whether for specific acting roles or otherwise. And though this particular story may not specifically shame him, the fact that it’s even a story at all seemed to bother Hill. Which is why he addressed it on Instagram on Friday, sharing the headline and an image from the story along with a lengthy caption about the “public mockery” he’s gotten about his body over the years and to celebrate how it “can’t phase me anymore.”

“I don’t think I ever took my shirt off in a pool until I was in my mid 30s even in front of family and friends. Probably would have happened sooner if my childhood insecurities weren’t exacerbated by years of public mockery about my body by press and interviewers,” Hill wrote. “So the idea that the media tries to play me by stalking me while surfing and printing photos like this and it can’t phase me anymore is dope. I’m 37 and finally love and accept myself.”

Hill noted that he didn’t want supportive of sympathetic comments, he just wants to send a message to kids like him who may not “take their shirt off at the pool.”

“Have fun,” he wrote. “You’re wonderful and awesome and perfect. All my love.”

Despite that sentiment, he did get plenty of celebratory comments on Instagram. And the message also was shared on Twitter and went viral on that social media platform as well.