CMAT, the Irish singer-songwriter known for her candid and witty style, has spoken out about the ongoing body-shaming she has faced following her performance at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Sunderland. In a heartfelt Instagram post on Thursday, the artist, whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, expressed her 'deep sadness' over the abusive comments directed at photos of her on stage.
A Painful Reality
CMAT wrote that she felt compelled to address the abuse, which has intensified as her fame has grown. 'It is literally so boring for me, a gorgeous genius, to keep having to yap on about how horribly I am treated because of my body,' she stated. 'I would love to stop but I cannot because it keeps happening, at an accelerating and worsening pace as I become more famous.'
The singer shared excerpts from a Substack essay by a music fan called Front Row Feels, which she said captured much of what was causing her distress. The essay highlighted the disparity in how CMAT was treated compared to other female performers at the same event, such as Zara Larsson and Olivia Dean, who did not face similar levels of online vitriol.
Unfair Comparisons
'What struck me most while scrolling through those toxic comment sections was the glaring disparity in how different women on that same lineup were treated,' the essay noted. It added that Larsson and Dean 'were granted a level of grace and basic humanity that was completely denied to CMAT.'
CMAT also addressed well-meaning commenters who suggested her body size was a choice. 'I am not being defiant. I am not choosing to look like this or weigh this much as some kind of punk rock act of liberty. I simply have a body, one that I would of course like to change in order to fit in and avoid all of this abuse, but I have had extreme difficulty in doing so,' she explained. 'I don't get a say in whether or not I want to be brave, I simply have to sit here and take it.'
Success Tarnished
Despite her gratitude for her career achievements, CMAT admitted that her success is 'increasingly becoming tarnished by the fact that I would be allowed to enjoy it so much more if I was thin.' She added, 'There is no relief from this – nobody can protect me or save me from this, and all that is demanded of me is more and more work as every environment I am placed in becomes more hostile.'
Last year, CMAT released the song 'Take a Sexy Picture of Me,' which critiques the scrutiny women face regarding their bodies and appearance. She is currently on tour promoting her third album, 'Euro-Country,' with a sold-out headline show in Dublin scheduled for Saturday.
