21-year-old singer Madison Beer has spoken out about the ‘very private’ images she took as a teenager, which were circulated by her ex-crush.
Beer opened up about the traumatic ordeal in aid of International Women’s Day, and said she wanted to ‘free herself’ from the weight she carried because of it.
The American singer was just 14 years old at the time, sharing the images via social media with a boy she liked, someone who she thought she could trust.
However, upon sharing the images with the boy on Snapchat, he then shared them with his friends, leaving Madison ‘distraught and ashamed’.
Taking to Instagram, Madison wrote:
I know there are some very significant things happening in the world right now that are very frightening so my intention with this message is to not, in any way, to distract from them, but I do wanna talk today on International Women’s Day on the subject of shaming women.
when I was around 14 and exploring my body & my sexuality, I sent very private snapchat’s of my body to a boy I really liked at the time. I sent these, at 14, thinking I could trust the boy as we had known each other for years & shared feelings for one another, but of course he shared it with all of his friends.
eventually that video was sent and shared by everyone (it felt like) in the entire world. i’d walk into restaurants and be stared at and whispered about, i was told people were ashamed to be working, or even be friends with me, these videos were shown to my parents, grandparents, and significant people, executives, and artists in the music business. it eventually surfaced online.
i was distraught and ashamed. this was a traumatizing experience that has instilled intense trust issues in me, that i’m still working on to this day. [sic]
Madison went on to add that, in light of her 21st birthday last week, the images sadly began surfacing again, which reopened the ‘trauma and shame’ she felt at the time it was originally shared all those years ago.
She finished her statement saying she wanted to help people be kinder to themselves as young women.
The post, which was shared to her 15 million Instagram followers, has received thousands of comments from members of the public, as well as fellow singers and celebrities showing their support.
Demi Lovato, for example, commented on the post saying: ‘Proud of you and this. I relate. you’re so strong and thank you for this’.
Madison received many more messages of support from her fans too.
I definitely agree with the 21-year-old in saying we do need to be kinder to ourselves, and must say she’s extremely brave to be so candid about her experiences.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence you can contact Victim Support on 08 08 16 89 111.
Niamh Shackleton is a pint sized person and journalist at UNILAD. After studying Multimedia Journalism at the University of Salford, she did a year at Caters News Agency as a features writer in Birmingham before deciding that Manchester is (arguably) one of the best places in the world, and therefore moved back up north. She’s also UNILAD’s unofficial crazy animal lady.