Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, 29, achieved some level of notoriety this past year by openly dating Tiger Woods and talking about their relationship repeatedly to the press. Lindsey isn’t competing in Sochi due to a knee injury, so I’m not sure how she’s still scoring publicity, but here we are.
Lindsey has new interview with Self Magazine, where she goes on at length about how unhealthy some thin female celebrities must be. Maybe Lindsey is trolling to get press, or maybe she’s just shading other women. Either way her latest comments are somewhat obnoxious. Lindsey talked about attending the MET Gala with Tiger and how, as an athlete, she didn’t feel inferior to the very skinny female celebrities because they must subsist on “diet coke and lettuce” and are all “skinny fat” anyway. Give me a break, lady:
Have you ever felt insecure when it comes to your body?
Definitely. It was hard to go to the Met ball [last May], with people who eat lettuce and a Diet Coke for dinner. It’s difficult to be at events with a room full of women who weigh half as much as you do. That’s always tough. I don’t envy them, though, because so many of them are skinny-fat. They have more cellulite than most people. I feel like I need to give them a cheeseburger. It’s sexy and beautiful to be strong.
You struggled with depression for years. How do you feel now?
Normal again, now that I’m on medication. I have sad days, but they’re rare and the lows aren’t as low. [This past year], I’ve been the happiest I’ve ever been. A part of me is missing when I can’t ski, but I’ve learned there’s more to define me and make me happy, like stand-up paddling and Jet Skiing—things I’d never done before. Or being with people I love and just enjoying life.
Speaking of which, what’s the best advice your boyfriend, Tiger Woods, has ever given you?
He’s helped me stay patient through rehab. Golf is all about patience—one tournament is four days long, 18 holes a day. He helped me take it one day at a time. I’d say, “Why can’t I do this? I want to!” And he’d say, “You’ll get your chance. It will come.” We’re good for each other. I don’t know what he’s learned from me, to be honest. But we push each other and help each other when we’re down.
Do you two get competitive?
We’re pretty competitive in everything we do: tennis, Ping-Pong, who wakes up earlier. I lose more than I win, but I try! He always beats me walking to the car.
If Vonn would have only said “It’s difficult to be at events with a room full of women who weigh half as much as you do,” which is still hyperbole, people would have sympathy for her. I mean sort of. From most people’s perspective she has very little to worry about since she has an amazing figure. Instead she had to shade other women’s bodies, calling them “skinny fat,” assuming that they don’t eat and that they have cellulite. That’s ridiculous and petty. It’s just as bad as someone calling her larger (she’s not!) because she’s so strong and fit. I agree that strong is sexy, but you don’t need to assert your superiority but putting down smaller women.
I’ll say something nice. It was cool of Lindsey to admit that medication helped her over her depression. There’s still a stigma surrounding psychiatric medication. When celebrities like Vonn and Brooke Shields discuss how drugs helped them, it encourages other people to get help.
This is Lindsey at the MET Gala with her drunk knight in shining Nike. She considers herself twice as big as an average starlet. On what planet?
Photo credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet
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