A model was been heaped with praise after a video showed her shutting down a photographer who told her to stop eating for two weeks in order to lose weight ahead of her next photoshoot.
Lize Dzjabrailova, a 22-year-old influencer, from Antwerp, Belgium, was excited to take part in a photoshoot for a clothing brand, but decided to walk out after being told to slim down.
Lize said she believes the photographer’s alleged ‘advice’ suggesting she should stop eating could easily cause some to develop body issues, eating disorders and other major health complications, or trigger those who already have them.
Advert
Lize shared the video on TikTok after a friend of hers filmed it, and it picked up over 18 million views.
You can watch it below:
In the powerful video, she can be heard saying: “You can’t tell people not to eat until the next shoot because that will develop an eating disorder.
Advert
“You are very lucky that I am secure in my body and that I love myself.
“But if there was another model who is standing here and was insecure in her body, that one comment you made would make her go insane.
“She could literally stop eating, her hair would fall out, her organs can die. She could die because of that one comment you made.
“You should watch how you talk to people. I shouldn’t lose anything, because I am already very skinny.
“But even if I wasn’t, you can’t tell me what to do with my body.
Advert
“You should watch what you tell people, because it can really damage them.”
Speaking after the altercation, Lize explained: “I have a platform in Belgium, and a clothing brand here reached out to me for a paid job. I agreed to do the photos.
"The clothing brand and clients knew my size, knew how I looked and said they loved it/.
“But when I got to the studio, the photographer told me in two weeks I would have another job. He went on to say that it would be better if I didn’t eat for two weeks straight so that I would look skinnier in the pictures.
Advert
“I was basically in shock and just quiet for a minute, staring at him. That’s when my friend started to film.
“I’ve always been told by men what to eat, when to stop eating. I should not be told what to do with my body.
“The one thing that is so important is to have boundaries. People will always love to test how far they can go with you.
Advert
“You have to, at the first disrespect you receive, leave. Imagine if I’d listened to the photographer’s advice to starve myself.
“What would he ask of me at the next photoshoot? He would have gone even further.
“You don’t have to be afraid to lose people. If they cannot see your worth, somebody else will. But you have to see the value in yourself first.”
Brave Lize claims that after she left the studio, the clients called her to apologise and asked her to return to finish the photoshoot, adding that the photographer had been fired.
Despite this, she declined.
“They wanted me to come back. But I didn’t want to go ahead with it, even with a different photographer," she said.
“The next morning, they let me know they had fired that photographer who said those things to me.
“Speaking up does make a difference. It is important, and we should love ourselves first.”
Lize said she decided to post the candid video of her altercation with the photographer in order to raise awareness of these issues in the fashion industry.
She does not wish to disclose the company or photographer involved.
Featured Image Credit: CatersTopics: Real Life