“Never talk like that about a man”: Jelena Dokic hits back at cruel comments
Jelena Dokic has opened up about receiving cruel criticism about her weight while working at the Australian Open.
The former world No. 4 has been interviewing tennis players competing in this year’s tournament and took to Instagram she put on some weight during Melbourne’s lockdown.
However the 37-year-old told people to “get over it” on Tuesday night.
“I am sharing this with you all because even though I have the best supporters in the world that send me thousands of messages of support, I have also received a few comments body shaming me and seen an article in the media about my weight and physical appearance,” Dokic wrote with two images of her before and after COVID-19 side by side.
“I have always been honest with you all about my struggles and my weight battles. I have talked about my weight and not a lot of people have done that publicly.
“Now I am also going to be honest but I also feel like I need to address the negative attention around what people think I should look like.
“And here is my message to you, GET OVER IT.”
Dokic retired in 2014 lost 53kg after reaching 120kg between 2018-2019.
She revealed in a social media post her battle with depression over her weight.
“Leave me and my physical appearance alone. I really don’t know why people and the media have the need to comment on someone’s physical appearance, especially when it comes to women,” she said.
“You would never talk like that about a man, it’s always about women and their appearance.
“While I am nowhere near my heaviest, I am also completely honest about the fact that I have put some weight back on in the Melbourne lockdown.
“It was very hard mentally for me in the world’s toughest lockdown for six months and not being able to see my loved ones for 15 months.
“I have even had some depression and anxiety creep back up and it’s been a battle.
“To all the body-shamers, online trolls and the media that have body shamed me, you should be ashamed of yourselves. If you have nothing nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
“How about a bit of kindness? How about a message asking me how I am doing? Instead of talking about my weight, why don’t you talk about all my accomplishments? Does my weight determine my worth?
“It’s so easy to judge others but why can’t people just be kind? We should be talking about inner beauty and not the shallow outside looks.”