Megan Fox opens up about body dysmorphia, joining other celebs in bravely speaking about this hidden condition

Transformers star Megan Fox is speaking frankly about her body and her struggle to accept it as it is in the new issue of Sports Illustrated.

Gracing the cover as one of its swimsuit models, the Jennifer’s Body star, who is engaged to Machine Gun Kelly, revealed that she suffers from body dysmorphia and she has suffered with it for her entire life.

"I have body dysmorphia — I don't ever see myself the way other people see me," she told the outlet.  "There's never a point in my life where I loved my body, never, ever."

"When I was little, that was an obsession I had of, like, but I should look this way," she continued. "And why I had an awareness of my body that young I'm not sure, and it definitely wasn't environmental because I grew up in a very religious environment where bodies weren't even acknowledged."

"The journey of loving myself is going to be never-ending, I think," she added.

The actress, who appears on the magazine cover wearing a suit made of gold coins, revealed that she was super intimidated to take on the challenge of gracing the iconic swimsuit issue.

"Shooting Sports Illustrated Swimsuit is definitely a lot of pressure, I have a vision in my head that I'm trying to achieve, so we'll see if it pans out for me."

According to the NHS, body dysmorphia is a mental health condition where a person is hyper-critical of their body and its flaws, to the point where they fixate on things other people cannot see. 

Megan, who shares three children with ex-partner Brian Austin Green, knows that she is seen as some vixen-y vamp in the media, and that’s also how she’s treated by Hollywood movie execs, and wants us to know she is not her image.

"What I most want people to know is that I'm a genuine soul who is hoping to actually belong to something and not always have to live as a misunderstood outcast," she said. “We may look at somebody and think, 'That person's so beautiful. Their life must be so easy.' They most likely don't feel that way about themselves.”

Megan joins a bunch of other celebs who have not only struggled with body dysmorphia, but also how that manifests in the public eye when the spotlight is always shining on them.

Billie Eilish, Billy Porter, Robert Pattinson, Sebastian Stan, Doja Cat, and Tallulah Willis have all opened up about their struggle with the condition.

Billie Eilish

“Bad Guy” singer Billie Eilish talked to Rolling Stone in July 2019 about issues she faced when she was younger, including her body image struggles. The singer, who used to be a dancer, revealed, "At dance, you wear really tiny clothes. And I've never felt comfortable in really tiny clothes. I was always worried about my appearance. That was the peak of my body dysmorphia. I couldn't look in the mirror at all."

Billy Porter

During an "Good Morning America" interview Good Morning America" in 2021, Kinky Boots and Pose star Billy Porter looked back on some childhood photos. "You know, he's a brave little boy and he was going through some stuff that he couldn't talk about at that time.” One photo featured by GMA was, as Porter described, "skinny Billy," showing Porter at around 16 years of age. "I think I low key, had some sort of eating disorder, you know, and some sort of body dysmorphia that I still sort of carry to this day," he shared as he looked at that snapshot. 

Sebastian Stan

In 2022, Pam & Tommy star Sebastian Stan revealed that the physical transformation to become Tommy Lee was the most difficult part of filming the mini-series. "It was always difficult because I just wasn't the same frame as him," the actor told Entertainment Weekly. "I had to lose so much weight, and the drums were a real pressure for me... The whole thing felt like this just ginormous mountain to climb."

 "I was trying to lose weight and I still felt I didn't lose enough weight," he continued. "And people were telling me I was crazy and going, 'You have body dysmorphia now' — which I always did anyway."

Doja Cat

In 2020, “Kiss Me More” singer Doja Cat opened up about her body dysmorphia, telling Cosmo that it affected how she views her looks and that she never really feels comfortable with her appearance. "It started in my teens, which I think is where it starts for a lot of people. I started really growing, and I never really thought I looked good in a lot of the stuff I wore."

Robert Pattinson

In 2013, Twilight superstar Robert Pattinson admitted that the pressures of being considered a sex symbol caused his bout with body dysmorphia. He told Sunday Style magazine (via International Business Times) that, before every red carpet event, he suffers from the symptoms of crippling anxiety and body dysmorphic disorder. "I get a ton of anxiety, right up until the second I get out of the car to the event, when suddenly it completely dissipates," said Pattinson. "But up until that moment ... body dysmorphia, overall tremendous anxiety."

Tallulah Willis

Tallulah Willis, the youngest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, has spoken candidly about dealing with issues surrounding her body image and self-esteem, according to a 2014 CBS News report. She went through a difficult period when she was younger, telling the outlet, "I struggled a lot when I was younger. I'm diagnosed with body dysmorphia [because of] reading those stupid f**king tabloids when I was like 13, feeling like I was just ugly, always. I believed the strangers more than the people who loved me, because why would the people who love me be honest?"