Taryn Brumfitt comes under fire for ‘skinny-shaming’ a ‘fit and healthy’ teen model 

A student has claimed she stayed in the ‘lower touch’ after body positivity activist Taryn Brumfitt ‘sexualized’ and ‘shamed’ her for a modeling shoot she did when she was 16.

Rhiannon van Zuydam, now 21, from Adelaide, says she was “happy and healthy” when she posed as a surfer for a newspaper in 2018.

Donning a bathing suit and posing with a surfboard, she said she had been thrilled with the opportunity.

However, her photos caught the eye of the newly crowned Australian of the Year, Ms Brumfitt, who posted them on her Body Image Movement social media accounts.

‘Thoughtful. Sad. Sultry. Sexual. Confused. This is how I would describe the model in these images, NOT a ‘Surfer…’ the post read.

Ms van Zuydam said she was cruelly harassed by the activist’s supporters following the post.

“People in the comments were saying I was so skinny, someone said, ‘Get that girl a burger, her parents must be hungry,’ or, ‘Oh, she looks so miserable,'” she said. The advertiser.

He added that the the negative responses to the post shattered her self-confidence and pushed her into depression.

“I was only 16 at the time, of course I’m going to be skinny: I’d train three to four hours a day and eat like a bloody horse, come back for thirds of dinner and stuff like that.”

“The fact that he used words that sexualized me was also very conflicting at the time.

“I was really closed off, I didn’t feel comfortable expressing myself. It took me years to feel comfortable in my own skin. That post made me hit rock bottom again.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Brumfitt for comment.

On Thursday, he told The Advertiser that he had shared the post. to gain attention from the fashion industry for her portrayal of young women.

“I expressed my opinion on these images as a call to fashion editors, magazines and the media in general to do a better job when it comes to how we portray and sometimes objectify girls and young women. in advertising,” said Ms. Brumfitt.

“I was devastated by the embarrassing, hurtful and derogatory words that followed my online post. I have never condoned and will never condone this type of behavior online.”

Ms Brumfitt later deleted the posts from Facebook and Instagram but is not believed to have offered an apology.

The post is still available on the Body Image Movement Twitter account.

Rhiannon’s mother, Sharyn van Zuydam, contacted her before the post was removed.

“I hope you feel wonderful about taking something special that was celebrated and turning it into a horrible situation,” Sharyn told Ms. Brumfitt.

Speaking later, he said he hoped Ms. Bumfitt had learned from the situation.

“Taryn was out there promoting body image, but if you didn’t fit her idea of ​​what it was, we found it was doing the opposite of what she was trying to achieve,” Sharyn said.

“It seemed hypocritical, from someone who was supposedly promoting the acceptance of body image.”

It is the latest controversy to go after the Australian of the year.

Two days ago, it was revealed that Ms Brumfitt may have inadvertently come to the attention of the ACCC after she appeared to endorse a number of products on Instagram without a disclaimer that she was paid to do so.

He has made several posts in recent years about food, fashion and cars on his ‘bodyimagemovement’ Instagram page.

San Remo Pasta, Modibodi underwear and a Mazda dealership are among the companies and products sold on her social media account.

Some posts include disclaimers of a paid partnership with the companies, while others seem to lack them.

Influencers are required to, at a minimum, end posts with #ad or #sponsored or add a kicker at the top explaining that it is a paid partnership.

Ms. Brumfitt, activist, writer, director, and public speaker on a decade-long mission to change the way we perceive ourselves.

In 2016, he produced a highly successful documentary called Embrace, which earned him international acclaim.

She was crowned Australian of the Year at a glittering ceremony in Canberra in January.

The Body Image Movement, which she founded in 2012, teaches people, particularly young women, to love and appreciate their bodies and has brought her to a global audience from her humble hometown of Adelaide.