Riverdale star Lili Reinhart has opened up about her body image issues – and blasted critics who say she can’t embrace body positivity because of her body shape.

The actress tweeted that she was feeling “really disheartened” about the issue. 

“Feeling really disheartened by the fact that so many people are saying “you’re skinny so shut up about embracing your body’,” she said on Twitter.

“As if my body dysmorphia is irrelevant because of how I look to some people. I’m either not curvy enough or not skinny enough to feel insecure.”

“Mental illness gets worse when people say that you don’t have a right to feel the way you do. That’s where we are failing.

“Do not encourage this behavior. It is destructive. More destructive than you’ll ever realize. You may not understand someone’s insecurity- but respect it.”

The actress was responding to criticisms of a string of posts she shared several days earlier. 

The actress also opened up about body image in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar earlier this week.

“We’re in a generation where people say, ‘Be who you are. Embrace your differences.’ And then they also praise people who have plastic faces,” she said.

“The most-followed people on Instagram are skinny people who have abs, long legs, silky hair, and filled-in eyebrows. But then people really love when I say, ‘It’s OK to not have a 24-inch waist and it’s OK to have pimples.’ But those same people are praising the people with images of flawless everything. Which side are you on?”

“I’m not that flawless image person,” she continued. “I could never live up to that. I’m not going to make people think I’m this airbrushed version of myself.

“There are lots of versions of me. My hair looks like shit most of the time. It looks great when I’m on a carpet, sure, but that’s not the only side I want people to see of myself.”

Reinhart isn’t alone when it comes to body image – many fans replied to her post with similar experiences.

“My ex got mad at me for having bipolar depression and anxiety and told me to “get over myself” because I have “nothing to be upset about and I was just seeking attention”,” one user wrote. “He also told me my need for reassurance annoyed him. Happy to say I dumped his ass.”

“Not pregnant… this is just my body,” she wrote. “And sometimes I’m bloated. Sometimes an unflattering photo is taken of me. Sometimes I go through periods of time where I gain weight.”

“My body is something that I will NEVER apologise for. My body will constantly go through change. And so will yours. And that’s fine. So let’s not put so much time and effort into caring about a stranger’s figure, OK?”

Images: Getty