Jonah Hill Reacts to Paparazzi Taking Shirtless Pics of Him With Message About Body Acceptance

Jonah Hill sends a message to "kids who don’t take their shirt off at the pool" after the paparazzi photographed him shirtless.

By Kaitlin Reilly Feb 27, 2021 9:51 PMTags
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After years of struggling with self-confidence, Jonah Hill is finally confident in his own skin. 

The Wolf of Wall Street star was photographed by paparazzi while surfing in California this week. He took to Instagram to share a screenshot of an article from The Daily Mail which depicted him shirtless while changing at the beach. 

The Oscar nominee, who is currently filming Netflix's star-studded new movie Don't Look Up, wrote, "I don't think I ever took my shirt off in a pool until I was in my mid 30s even in front of family and friends. Probably would have happened sooner if my childhood insecurities weren't exacerbated by years of public mockery about my body by press and interviewers. So the idea that the media tries to play me by stalking me while surfing and printing photos like this and it can't phase me anymore is dope. I'm 37 and finally love and accept myself."

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Jonah Hill's Santa Monica Home

He continued, "This isn't a "good for me" post. And it's definitely not a 'feel bad for me post'. It's for the the kids who don't take their shirt off at the pool. Have fun. You're wonderful and awesome and perfect. All my love."

He also took a swipe at the outlet that published the pics, writing, "Oh and Daily Mail, not even you can take that smile from my face." 

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This isn't the first time Jonah has spoken out about his struggle with body image issues. On The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2018, he told the host, "I spent most of my young adult life listening to people say I was fat, gross, and unattractive. And it's only in the last four years writing and directing my movie, Mid90s, that I've started to understand how much that hurt and got into my head."

The actor and director, who designed a line of clothes and sneakers with Adidas last year, also told GQ that his interest in fashion was affected by how people perceived him due to his weight. 

"The idea was realizing, whether I was big or small, that I really can define my own personal style. I think that's a dope wave that's happening right now in culture, too," he told the outlet. "But for me, that was a big turning point of realizing: okay, be yourself. You don't have to be anything you don't want to be. And if you're really interested in fashion then you should be, don't push that away. Lean into it."

Now, Jonah is leaning into life, and doing so with a smile.