Julianne Hough set the record straight after a recent video of her in a bikini caused some fans to express “concern” for her.
“I don’t usually address comments like this but I’m going to say a few things about this video,” Hough, 36, began in a series of Instagram Stories on Monday, September 30. Before addressing specific comments about her body, the Dancing With the Stars cohost detailed the self-care routine she was documenting.
“The trampoline was a new try for me today at my friends house – this is their routine – sauna, cold plunge, jump – it’s for your lymphatic system which promotes lymphatic drainage which helps protect the body from disease and infection,” she explained. “Being in a bikini is the best outfit for these activities especially in this order.”
Hough then slammed speculation about her appearance in the clip, which she originally shared on Sunday, September 29.
“My body has never been healthier – I was full of inflammation in my 20’s and had a marker for an auto immune that I addressed and committed to over a year and a half ago,” she wrote. “I’ve frozen my eggs over the last few years which also shifts the body fluctuation. I’ve never been healthier or happier from the inside out. Grief, loss. Sadness and fear also get stored in the body and we hold on to that in different ways. I made it a huge priority to accept, express, process and release a lot of emotions over the years.”
Hough also addressed her behavior, saying, “This playful side of me is the most authentic version. I saw somewhere that when kids are the most playful and can be the most strange and weird versions of themselves it means they are the safest to do so. My playful goofy side is a reflection of how safe I feel in my own skin and with the people around me. Everyone who is close to me knows this side of me means I am the most free in judgement of myself and from others.”
The pro dancer concluded by telling fans that she has no plans to do anything differently going forward.
“I’m going to continue feeling safe within myself regardless of the outpouring of your comments, and have fun with life which can be really heavy and challenging,” she wrote. “So why not be playful and laugh and enjoy the journey instead of taking everything so seriously.”
Hough followed her message with a series of throwback videos that showed her “playful side.” Of a clip from 2017, she wrote, “Guys, I’ve always been this weird.”
In a subsequent new video, she repeated some of the points she made in her written message. “I just wanted to let everybody know I’m very healthy,” she told viewers. “In fact, I’ve never been healthier. But thank you for your concern, and I do love to sauna and cold plunge and do lymphatic drainage and work out and dance and I have love in my life with [my dog] Sunny girl. I’m very happy, but thank you for your concern.”
Hough also shared one final video that was directed specifically at body-shamers. “And for those telling me to eat a cheeseburger … This was on Sept 17th the premiere date of DWTS!” she wrote over the clip, which showed her chowing down on a burger.
Hough previously opened up about being fat-shamed on a movie set, though she didn’t disclose the name of the project.
“I was very self-accepting growing up, then something switched in middle school,” she told Redbook in December 2017. “I would compare myself to everyone … and later I did a film where I basically was told I was fat every day, yet I was the skinniest I’d ever been. Now, when I’m self-conscious, I’ll do something completely crazy or goofy to get out of my own head — something fun that reminds me of the freedom I felt as a kid before all that happened.”
