16-year-old TikTok star Charli D’Amelio reveals she is struggling with an eating disorder

16-year-old TikTok sensation Charli D’Amelio has revealed that she is battling an eating disorder, speaking out about her personal struggle in a candid Instagram post. 

The teenager, who is from Connecticut, admitted that she has ‘been afraid’ to speak about it publicly, explaining that she found it hard to open up even to her closest friends and family. 

‘It’s so uncomfortable to admit to even your closest friends and family, let alone the world,’ she wrote in her Instagram Stories post. ‘I’ve been afraid to share that I have an eating disorder, but ultimately I hope that by sharing this I can help someone else.’

Charli, who is the most-followed star on TikTok with more than 86 million fans, did not explain what prompted her to speak out about her eating disorder struggles, however she went on to apologize to anyone she may have unknowingly ‘triggered’ in the past by featuring songs with upsetting lyrics on her TikTok. 

The dancer and influencer recently came under fire for featuring the song Prom Queen by Beach Bunny on her account because it includes lyrics like, ‘Shut up, count your calories,’ and, ‘Wish I, was like you, blue-eyed blondie, perfect body.’ 

‘I know eating disorders are something that so many other people are also battling behind closed doors,’ she continued. 

‘To anyone I could have hurt by unintentionally playing a song and no realizing that those lyrics could have triggered you, I deeply and truly apologize and I hope you know that I never intended to cause you harm.’ 

Charli concluded her post by sharing words of comfort for anyone else who is going through, or has experienced, similar struggles, while sharing a link to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). 

‘For anyone that is struggling with this, I know some days can be worse than others,’ she said, while urging those people to ‘get help if you need it’. 

‘I need you to know you are not alone,’ Charli added. ‘Remember it’s OK to reach out and get help. We all need help sometimes. I love you all and please stay strong.’ 

The post marks the first time that the teen has publicly shared her eating disorder struggles, however she has previously spoken out about the many body-shaming comments she has faced on TikTok and other social media platforms while urging people to stop passing comment on others’ bodies. 

Taking to Twitter in April, Charli wrote: ‘Stop talking about my body! It’s not your place to tell me if I’m losing weight or gaining weight. 

‘Why don’t we all just be respectful and understand that we should just be kind and uplift everyone instead of trying to bring others down… 

‘I’ve seen these videos about me my friends and complete strangers but it doesn’t matter who you’re doing it to, it’s never okay and I feel like I really needed to say that. I love you all but please stop!’

Months earlier, in a video filmed for UNICEF’s Safer Internet Day, Charli opened up about how she deals with online bullying, explaining that the ‘most hurtful comments’ she sees about herself online are the ones regarding her appearance.  

At the time, she revealed that she had been grappling with body dysmorphia and ‘bad eating habits’, but did not then share details about her eating disorder. 

‘Some of the most hurtful comments I read about myself online are, “She’s fatter than when we got her famous,” or “She’s ugly.” A lot about my body shape, my body type,’ she said. 

‘[It] hits close to home because I struggled a lot with body image, body dysmorphia, bad eating habits. No one really knows that… It hurts for everyone no matter who you are. Getting hundreds of thousands of hate comments per week is a lot to handle.’  

Charli was first catapulted to social media fame last year, after amassing five million followers on TikTok in a matter of weeks with her skilled dance routines and lip-syncing videos which were often filmed from her bedroom in Connecticut. 

Since then, the teenager’s following has continued to expand at an incredibly quick rate – landing her in the top spot as TikTok’s most-followed user, while also thrusting Charli, and her family, into the spotlight. 

Her older sister Dixie, 19, boasts an impressive 37 million-strong following of her own, while her mother Heidi has close to six million fans on her own account. Meanwhile the official D’Amelio Family TikTok has racked up nearly 14 million followers in mere months. 

The foursome’s success on TikTok has also led to some very lucrative business opportunities for the whole family, but particularly Charli and her sister Dixie. 

Within the last six months alone, Charli has secured partnerships with Dunkin Donuts and Hollister, as well as two beauty collaborations with makeup brand Morphe and nail polish label Orosa Beauty. 

Earlier this week, the teen had the chance to turn her hand to fashion design, creating a limited edition hoodie for clothing brand Hollister, while her older sister Dixie, also debuted a sweater. 

‘It’s just so cool to see it really be personalized to us and make it exactly how we wanted it to look – Dixie was even able to draw some designs for the sweatshirt I wanted,’ Charli said of the design in a statement. 

‘The creation process was also really amazing; the entire thing was done virtually through video chat with the Hollister design team.’