Vin Diesel Keeps Fighting Back at Body Shamers: "That's the Dark Side of Fame"

Fast & Furious action star addresses physical criticism in new interview

By Samantha Schnurr Oct 20, 2015 1:53 PMTags
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Vin Diesel isn't taking the recent jabs at his physique lying down. 

In a new interview with BBC's Newsbeat, Diesel doesn't sugarcoat his feelings regarding his latest experience with critics, this time ones who've been making a big deal about his so-calle "dad bod." The 48-year-old actor, who has spent much of his career portraying one muscly hero after another, is the last person anyone would expect to fall prey to the superficial criticism. However, as Diesel has learned, it seems no one is immune to this "dark side of fame." 

"I think that it is ultimately wrong..I think people should be less judgmental and more just loving," he told Newsbeat. "You hear people talk about haters all the time, and there are people who process haters differently." 

Instead of going into hiding, Diesel proudly displayed his "dad bod" publicly in a later photo he posted on his own social media, proving to haters everywhere that he was perfectly comfortable in his own skin. 

"I feel sorry for people who have to cut other people down to feel better about themselves," he said of the commenters. "They do it for profit too and that's the dark side of fame."

Diesel added that this type of public disapproval can be debilitating. 

"You do that enough to people and they become withdrawn... because they don't know who is trying to exploit them or bring them down."

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The actor first sparked speculation that he had taken a hiatus from the gym after photos surfaced of him on a balcony in Miami shirtless with a noticeable gut. He later went on the offensive, posting his own shirtless selfie showing off the same rock-hard abs he's been sporting for years while exclaiming "body-shaming is always wrong!" 

Despite the unsettling publicity, Diesel assured fans he appreciates the commentary for the most part. 

"I don't stay away from the internet," he said. "I think there's great value in getting feedback in terms of social media."

"I've been able to have a unique relationship with the audience that I believe has made the [Fast and Furious] films better because of it," he added.

While the ordeal may have initially come as a shock, it hasn't jaded the action star. 

"Magazines and stuff like that are a bit dated now but I think, by and large, around the world people are good people," Diesel concluded.