Defiant Gemma Collins won’t take horrific body-shaming comments ‘lying down’

Gemma Collins reminded us all she’s not a woman to be crossed when she called for a politician to be sacked for body shaming her. The former TOWIE star, 44, took aim at Reform candidate Sandra Joanne Kirkwood after she reportedly called her a “pig in knickers” and other offensive slurs. The comments were allegedly made on social media in 2016 when Gemma was appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, and last week the reality star said Kirkwood “should be sacked immediately from Reform” ahead of by-elections in Kilmarnock North, Ayrshire.

A source tells us that Gemma has always – and will continue to – fight back when it comes to fat shaming and trolling. “Gemma will always stand up for herself and other women, whatever their size,” they claimed. “She’s used to being body shamed online, but that doesn’t mean she’ll take it lying down. She’s defiant and would never let them get to her, but she doesn’t see why people should be allowed to make horrible comments and not be held accountable for them.”

The politician also reportedly referred to Gemma as a “fat lump of sh**e”, and wrote on her personal social media accounts, “I swear I would not get sick of kicking that Gemma Collins up n doon that hoose.” According to reports, she’s since been suspended from the party and withdrawn from the election. A spokesperson said, “Reform UK Scotland expects and upholds highest standards for our candidates and elected officials.”

Gemma announced recently that she’d been taking weight-loss injections, and in a birthday social media post last month confirmed she’d never had cosmetic surgery. “I’m really happy to be 44,” she said. “I’m really happy to be ME. I’m really happy that I haven’t messed with my face and I remain my true authentic self.”

And standing up for herself last week, Gemma told a newspaper that Nigel Farage ’s Reform party “shouldn’t allow a national treasure such as Gemma Collins who has contributed to the nation in times of despair, like lockdown, who was personally asked to be met by the King and Queen, to be abused like that”.

Gemma has been subjected to nasty comments about her size for years. Former Dancing On Ice judge Jason Gardiner was forced to apologise to her in 2019 when fans accused him of fat shaming after he referred to her as a “refrigerator”. She also once got a grovelling apology from ex-boyfriend James Argent after she released text messages from him calling her a “fat joke of a woman”.

The former Celebs Go Dating star also stands up for other women against body shaming. When Strictly star Tilly Ramsay was called a “chubby little thing” by LBC DJ Steve Allen, Gemma took to her socials to say how upset she was by the “targeting” of the then 19-year-old.

“Gemma has had years of body shaming comments, from back when she was on TOWIE , so she’s grown a thick skin, but she won’t allow people to talk that way to her or anyone else,” explained our source. “She believes in being kind and yes, she believes in speaking your truth, but not at the expense of other people’s feelings, and certainly not picking apart someone’s appearance.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook,YouTubeand Threads.

Source: Mirror