Haters will hate, and our sworn protector Kelly Clarkson will swoop in with inspiring words of encouragement. The Voice coach has long been an advocate for body positivity, and back in 2020, she had the best response to a body-shaming Twitter troll. When a user left a rude comment about Valerie Bertinelli on the app, Clarkson came to the Food Network star's defense, writing, "Pity people that speak ill of others."
On Feb. 17, 2020 Food Network Kitchen tweeted the news that Bertinelli, who hosts Valerie's Home Cooking, would be filming a live cooking show. One sorry commenter wrote, "Awwww, so chubby."
Bertinelli, then 59 years old, shared a screenshot of the hateful comment, defusing the insult with a pointed, gracious celebration of body positivity and self-love. "Wow," she wrote. "Someone is always there to remind me to tidy up my negative thoughts some more. Thank you for reminding me I'm so much more than my body. Have a blessed day."
Wow. Someone is always there to remind me to tidy up my negative thoughts some more. Thank you for reminding me I?m so much more than my body. Have a blessed day. ?? pic.twitter.com/453f6P3MFG
— valerie bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) February 18, 2020
Clarkson echoed Bertinelli's rise-above mentality with some powerful words of wisdom, writing, "True power is recognizing the projection of others negativity & punching it square n the face w/all the positive, remarkable, intelligent, beautiful light that seeps from ur pores. Pity people that speak ill of others because while some of us r dancing, the others r too afraid."
True power is recognizing the projection of others negativity & punching it square n the face w/all the positive, remarkable, intelligent, beautiful light that seeps from ur pores. Pity people that speak ill of others because while some of us r dancing, the others r too afraid. https://t.co/X03QKyFzIc
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) February 18, 2020
Clarkson is no stranger to online hate. Back in 2017, the "Stronger" singer opened up about the body-shaming comments that have plagued her entire career - and how she tunes out the noise.
"Even on American Idol I was really thin, but I was bigger than the other girls on the show, so people would say things to me," Clarkson told People at the time. "But luckily I am super confident, so I've never had a problem with shutting people down and saying, 'Yeah, you know, that's just what I'm rocking. It's fine.' "
With multiple Emmy and Grammy Awards under her belt, ignoring the hate has worked out well for Kelly Clarkson. And her iconic defense of Valerie Bertinelli will go down as one of the best clapbacks in internet history.
