Stacey Solomon has dismissed an apology from Now magazine, after she was branded “boring”, “desperate” and “cheap” on their front cover this week.
Earlier this week, the ‘Loose Women’ presenter called out the publication for their cover, which quoted tweets from a handful social media users, accusing them of “tearing women down” and “bullying” her.
She addressed the controversy during Thursday’s episode of the ITV daytime show, explaining why the cover hit such a sore spot with her.
“The bigger picture is far more sinister,” Stacey explained. “Inside this publication, it went on to tell people how to get a ‘revenge body’, as if your body is the cause of all your issues, so change that, and your life is better.
“It then went on to talk about me, and the way I promote body confidence, and said that it was boring and that people have had enough of it.
“That was the saddest part of this whole fiasco, these publications are tearing women down and giving them no hope whatsoever in being able to love themselves and feel secure in themselves.”
Quoting statistics that suggested almost a quarter of 14-year-olds are now self-harming, Stacey continued: “These [publications] still don’t see the responsibility that lies with them, and what they’re doing to encourage this happening.”
Anchor Nadia Sawalha then went on to read out a response from Now magazine, issued yesterday to HuffPost UK, from a card, which Stacey promptly took and threw over her shoulder.
The magazine’s apology read: “The story featured in this week’s issue of Now magazine regarding Stacey Solomon was written on the basis of social media comments about Stacey and is not the opinion of Now magazine.
“As a publication, we simply aim to inspire debate amongst our readers about their favourite celebrities and TV stars, including Stacey.
“We do not encourage or condone bullying in any form. We apologise to Stacey for any distress our story may have caused.”
Since her comments lambasting the cover, Stacey has received support from a number of celebrities, including her fellow ‘Loose Women’ stars and a message from her “idol”, Stephen Fry.
‘Loose Women’ airs every weekday from 12.30pm on ITV.