‘I just remember thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it’s something that I can’t change’
Chloe Grace Moretz has reflected on how a meme from Family Guy about her body led to her becoming a “recluse.”
The 25-year-old actor – who has starred in films such as 500 Days of Summer and Kick-Ass – opened up about how seeing memes of herself all over the internet affected her body image.
She spoke to Hunger about one particular meme made about her, which was based on a phot of her in which she is entering a hotel carrying a pizza box.
The photo was then turned into a scene in season 10 of the hit Fox sitcom Family Guy.
A character based on the photo of Moretz is introduced, and is called Legs Go All The Way Up Griffin, who is the great aunt of the main character Peter Griffin.
The character, voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane, has exaggerated proportions, such as very long legs and a short torso.
The scene quickly became a viral meme.
“I’ve actually never really talked about this, but there was one meme that really affected me, of me walking into a hotel with a pizza box in my hand,” Moretz told Hunger.
“And this photo got manipulated into a character from ‘Family Guy’ with the long legs and the short torso, and it was one of the most widespread memes at the time.”
“Everyone was making fun of my body, and I brought it up with someone and they were like, ‘Oh, shut the fuck up, it’s funny,’” Moretz continued.
“And I just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it’s something that I can’t change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram.
“It was something so benign as walking into a hotel with leftovers. And to this day, when I see that meme, it’s something very hard for me to overcome.”
She explained that it led to her no longer enjoying getting dressed up and going out, and made her “super self-conscious.”
The actor continued: “I think that body dysmorphia — which we all deal with in this world – is extrapolated by the issues of social media. It’s a headf**k.”
Body dysmorphia is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance, which are usually unnoticeable to others.
“I basically became a recluse,” Moretz said of the effect of social media memes about her body. “It was great because I got away from the photographers and I was able to be myself, and to have so many experiences that people didn’t photograph, but at the same time it made me severely anxious when I was photographed. My heart rate would rise and I would hyperventilate.”
Moretz is due to star in the thriller series The Peripheral, which is due for release on 21 October on Amazon Prime.
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