Valerie Bertinelli Claps Back at Body-Shamer Over Weight Gain: ‘You’re Not Being Helpful’

Actress and cooking show host Valerie Bertinelli was driven to tears by a hateful comment on Instagram where a troll told her she needed to lose weight. The 61-year-old shared a video with her fans about how deeply it hurt her, and how they were “not being helpful” as she has battled yo-yo weight issues all her life.

The Valerie’s Home Cooking host explained how she was going through recipes online for an upcoming segment, “and I made the mistake of reading the comments. Someone decided to point out that I need to lose weight.”

The Hot in Cleveland star began to tear up and sarcastically said, “Because see, I don’t have a scale or I don’t have clothes that I’m trying to put on every day, and I don’t have mirrors, so I don’t see what’s become of me. So, I needed that help to let me know that I need to lose weight.”

“You’re not being helpful. Because when you see somebody who has put some weight on, my first thought is, ‘That person is obviously going through some things,’” Valerie continued.

Not only did the actress deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns in 2020, she lost her ex-husband and close friend, Eddie Van Halen, to cancer in October. He’s the father of her only child, Wolfgang Van Halen.

Valerie and Eddie were married from 1981 through 2007 and remained a big part of each other’s lives until his death. “I miss him. And I’m allowed to miss him,” Valerie heartbreakingly revealed on the Today Show in February 2021.

“If I could lose the weight and keep it off, I would,” the Food Network star shared, while welling up with tears. After a long pause, she continued, “But since I haven’t been successful with that my whole entire life — at 61 I’m still dealing with it — you think I’m not tired of it?”

“Where’s the compassion?” Valerie asked. “You think a stupid little comment like ‘you need to lose weight’ … not f—king helpful,” she added before ending her message.

Valerie had originally posted the video to her Instagram Stories on July 8 but decided to make a full post about it so that all her fans could see it after the 24-hour window was up. “Aren’t we tired of body-shaming women yet?! smh,” she began in the caption.

“I was going to delete my stories because it’s a little embarrassing and scary to be so vulnerable. But then I realized it was hitting a ‘good’ nerve with so many of you who were so sweet to DM and share your same vulnerability and struggles. We all could use a little more kindness and patience and grace, because we just never know what someone else is going through. So here it is. Not deleting. Owning it,” she added.

Valerie’s fans gave her an outpouring of love and support, and she let them know how much she appreciated it in a July 9 Instagram video over her morning coffee. “Thank you … there’s so much kindness out there. I certainly don’t feel so alone anymore,” she said with a smile. “It’s the shame part that’s hard to get rid of. It’s a stupid emotion that’s absolutely useless. But I just wanted to say thank you.”