Lea dumanas ng matinding hirap sa pagpapapayat dahil sa Miss Saigon; fat-shaming kinondena

INAMIN ni Lea Salonga na naranasan na rin niya ang matinding struggle para mapanatili ang kanyang timbang.

Aniya, hindi biro ang hirap at sakripisyong dinanas niya sa pagpapapayat lalo na noong kasagsagan ng pagbibida niya sa “Miss Saigon” kung saan gumanap siya bilang Kim. Nagsimula siya sa “Miss Saigon” noong 1989.

Sa kanyang Facebook account, ikinuwento ng international singer ang naging journey niya sa pag-maintain ng kanyang timbang kasabay ng pagkondena sa fat-shaming.

Ipinost ni Lea sa FB ang artikulong “James Corden Torches Bill Maher For Fat-Shaming Segment” at inilahad ang kanyang karanasan sa pagpapapayat.

“Here’s my story. I’ve struggled with my own weight for as long as I was old enough to go on a diet. I’m not morbidly obese by any means, but by ‘showbiz standards,’ I’m not the norm.

“Imagine how this struggle became amplified while I was working on Miss Saigon where Kim is envisioned to be tiny. There was a chart in the company office that monitored my weight and I had to do weekly weigh-ins.

“Or the resident choreographer would be sent to my dressing room to tell me to lose the weight. Or a letter from another producer that saw the show would write to Cameron to tell him, and then Cameron would tell me.

“I know the company meant well, and I get the demands of the show and that role in particular, but this wasn’t helpful to me or my impressionable young psyche. No one else in the cast carried this on their shoulders, so I oftentimes felt isolated and alone.

“Fat-shaming isn’t helpful, I agree. And folks that are overweight to whatever degree are already painfully aware that something isn’t right. We do really try to do right by our bodies not just to look great but to live long for ourselves and those we love.

“I’m thankful that Marie-France, Sexy Chef and my personal trainer Jomar are around, as they have become helpful in my own quest to be a better me. Also helps that I married someone serious about staying healthy.

“So know this: if you are overweight and I am around you, know that in my mind I am not shaming you, but am concerned. I want you to be around for a long, long time, and will be your biggest cheerleader holding your hand in your own quest for a healthier you. You got this.”

Actually, matagal nang sumusuporta si Lea kontra fat-shaming at body-sha-ming. Kung matatandaan, noong April, 2018 nagpa-trending ang singer-actress ng #NoToFatShaming at #FatShamingIsNotAcceptable hashtags sa Twitter.