Live your best life, love yourself, surround yourself with positive people—these are all things Oprah Winfrey has told us through the years.
So, when her namesake publication O, The Oprah Magazine, offered up what some readers deemed to be a piece of body shaming advice, the world was worried.
In an the fashion Q&A featured in a recent O, a reader wanted to know whether she could "pull off a crop top." The mag provided a rather blunt answer, urging the woman to bare her belly "if (and only if!) you have a flat stomach."
Writer Tamra Anitai saw this section, Instagrammed a screen grab of the questionable commentary and sounded off on how she was "surprised to see this level of #bodyshaming in Oprah magazine."
"The feature is about women feeling healthy," she wrote. "Part of health is self-esteem and that's intrinsically connected to body image. Stop telling women what they CAN'T wear. We can wear and do and be ANYTHING that makes us feel strong, powerful, passionate and in charge of our own destinies. I hope young women and women of any age don't feel like they're restricted by editorially imposed fashion 'rules'" The only rules are there are no rules. Wear what you love, what makes you feel confident, and own it. Confidence is power, and it's contagious."
Other women fought back too, uniting on social media to #RockTheCrop and show off tummies of all shapes and sizes.
But put down those pitchforks, people! A spokesperson for O, The Oprah Magazine said in a statement: "We support, encourage and empower all women to look great, feel confident and live their best lives—in this case, we could have expressed it better. We appreciate the feedback and will be more mindful going forward."
O loves you, O listens, and O wants you to wear whatever it is that makes you feel good.
—Additional reporting by Lindsay Good