Nigerian actress, Monalisa Stephen, has spoken concerning her experiences with people regarding her body size. During her recent interview on TVC, Monalisa revealed how a comment targeted at her body size nearly made her commit suicide.
Narrating her experiences, Monalisa said, “I started getting bullied since I was in Secondary School. I was the only ‘fat’ girl in the class, and I could not look up to anybody. My mother often told me that an African woman could be ‘thick’ I do not know where we got the body standard that expects people to have a particular body size before they can get accepted. It is saddening. I will like to wear a bikini and move my body like a normal person. My turning moment was when someone asked me, “do you think you have an opinion because we consider you as human?”.
Speaking further, she added, “I wanted to kill myself over the comment, but my mother stopped me. People have said worse things to me on social media, and my pages are filled with similar comments. I urge people to love themselves, as I have heard worse stories from other women.”