Tara Reid is sick and tired of the constant chatter surrounding her body.
The actress, 47, shut down speculation that she has an eating disorder in a sit-down with The Los Angeles Inquisitor, for which Pvnew obtained an exclusive sneak peek.
When the magazine’s publisher, Derek Warburton, gave Reid the opportunity to set the record straight about whether she suffers from anorexia or bulimia, she didn’t hesitate.
“I have no anorexia and never have,” she replied. “And I definitely don’t have any bulimia. I’m terrified of throwing up, so that’s not gonna happen. And I love food too much.”
The “American Pie” star went on, “So anyone that says I’m anorexic or bulimic, they’re wrong. So stop it. Leave me alone. Pick on me again on something else, but not on those two things. It’s not right.”
Though Reid’s appearance has been a topic of conversation since she rose to fame in the early 2000s, it recently became a focal point again after she competed on Season 2 of “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.”
The “Josie and the Pussycats” star told Warburton she agreed to participate in the “really intense” quasi-military training competition to “get over certain issues that [she has] deep inside.”
“I thought if I could do this, try this, maybe I can get over some of the things that I have, like, the darkness inside of me,” she shared. “And a lot of it’s about bullying.”
Reid hoped the reality show would make her “stronger” and less “hurt” when she receives public scrutiny.
“I’m so glad I did it because it really did help me. It made me learn my strength, my mental strength, my inner strength — not necessarily my physical strength,” said the star, who pulled out of the competition early on.
“But I learned a lot about myself, and I came back feeling like a better person.”
The “Celebrity Big Brother” alum made sure to note that she’s received an overwhelming amount of support from fans since returning from filming the series.
“I literally started reading the messages, the text messages … private DMS … and all these people are coming in and just saying, like, ‘Be strong. You did a great job. We love you. We support you,'” she marveled.
“And I would read them out loud with Nate [Montpetit-Howar], my boyfriend, and we were crying at moments because it felt so good because I never felt that support.”
Speaking directly to those who have reached out to her, she said, “Thank you for making me feel good again. Because you can’t write back everyone — it’s too hard — but I wanted to make a statement. … Thank you to everyone that supported me and made me feel better and really made me want to be a better person. … I appreciated every single comment that every single fan said, and I just want to say thank you to all of them.”
When Pvnew caught up with Reid in November 2021, she was dealing with the same kind of criticism about her weight.
“I’ve always been thin,” she told us at the time. “So these stories are kind of crazy because it’s, like, there’s nothing that has changed for forever.”
She explained that she “feel[s] bad” for the “bullies” and keyboard warriors “because if they’re that miserable writing things at home, what are they doing? That’s negative, you know? It’s hurtful.”
“Love will always beat hate,” she added. “It’s just so hard to find love because you’ve got to find it in yourself first.”
