It’s no surprise that social media can be a toxic place for anyone and everyone. And, for Chloe Grace Moretz, one of her most traumatic moments online is when people began to make her into a meme. In fact, it appears that Chloe Grace Moretz even sought therapy as a result of the trauma.
She explained as much while speaking with Hunger TV, noting that there was “the onslaught of horrific memes that started getting sent to me about my body.” One of the memes that “really affected” her, however, occurred after she was photographed “walking into a hotel with a pizza box.” While it was a normal scenario for Chloe Grace Moretz, the online community took the opportunity to compare her with a Family Guy gag.
After revealing her experience, she continued by describing the image:
“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.”
Not long after, Moretz went to discuss the image with someone, and their response was quoted as being something like, “‘Oh, shut the f*** up, it’s funny.'” Of course, Moretz didn’t think so. She specifically recalled “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’s especially disappointing that “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.”
Chloe Grace Moretz further explained how the meme removed some of the joy from her life.
“It took a layer of something that I used to enjoy, which was getting dressed up and going to a carpet and taking a photo, and made me super self-conscious. And I think that body dysmorphia – which we all deal with in this world – is extrapolated by the issues of social media.”
This is certainly upsetting news, especially for a star that’s beloved by many. As she noted herself, we all deal with body dysmorphia to some extent, and one can only imagine how a viral meme like that could make things worse. Especially when you’re only trying to do something so casual as carry some pizza boxes. Thankfully, however, we’re still getting plenty of great performances from Moretz – with quite a few lined up for the future. So fans can stay tuned to ScreenGeek for updates on her career as we have them.