A former Miss Universe winner shut down body-shamers on Instagram

Brianna Arps, INSIDER Sep. 1, 2017, 3:10 PM 75

Alicia Machado defended herself against body-shaming trolls. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Body-shamers are ruthless about commenting on other people's weight online.

Recently, former Miss Universe Alicia Machado experienced their wrath after posting an Instagram picture of herself on August 25 in a form-fitting lace jumpsuit.

The post, which we first saw on People Chica, is a red carpet photo that was taken at the Spanish-language awards show, "Premios Tu Mundo" (or "Your World Awards").

Almost immediately, several users began bashing the ex-beauty queen for looking "chubby" and "overweight," according to People Chica. The site translated a few comments from Spanish to English in its original report on August 30.

"You look chubby. I don’t know if it’s your undergarments, but the extra pounds are noticeable," one user wrote, according to People Chica. The magazine cited another Instagrammer, who wrote: "As a public figure, you’re overweight in my opinion. Those clothes do not suit her."

Machado defended herself by saying she gained weight due to her budding acting career, People Chica reports.

"Yes and I still have another 5 pounds more to gain to appear even fatter for the next character that I will be playing," she commented in response, according to People Chica.

Howeover, after searching the star's IMDb profile the exact role she may have been referring to in her comment is unclear.

This isn't the first time Machado has faced backlash concerning her body.

In September 2016 during a presidential debate, Hillary Clinton referenced Machado's claim that Donald Trump called her "Miss Piggy" and "Miss Housekeeping" in 1996 — the year she won the Miss Universe pageant that Trump previously owned.

On September 26, the former Clinton campaign staff released this video against Trump that shows Machado speaking out against the now-President.

On September 30, Trump fueled the controversy by attacking the Venezuelan pageant winner. In a string of offensive tweets, he referred to Machado as "disgusting."

INSIDER has contacted a representative for Alicia Machado for comment.

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