Bella Thorne is taking a stand against autographing racy photos obtained while she was underage. The Famous in Love star, 25, told The Hollywood Reporter about a street brawl with a man during the Sundance Film Festival when she refused to autograph suggestive images he handed her.
“Normally, I don’t yell at them, but they irritated me,” she remarked of autograph seekers. “There was this guy who was thrusting images in front of me, and I looked away for a second before returning to find a photo of myself from my GQ magazine cover.
It’s very sexy because my butt is exposed, I’m wearing lingerie, and I’m topless. When I replied I wouldn’t sign it, he took it away and then returned it to me. ‘No, I’m not signing it,’ I responded. He took out another magazine photo with a provocative image. ‘Come on, Bella,’ he said. Please sign it for me.’ It didn’t sit well with me. It was unsuitable.”
The man also sent Thorne some images from her Candies commercial when she was 16. “‘Give me something else,’ I said. ‘Aren’t they all sexy?’ he asked. No, enough already. But I understand; they have to make money, and everyone has a job, so I understand. It’s only that I’m under the age of 18, and it’s inappropriate “Thorne elaborated.
The former child star admits she looks back and reconsiders some of the photos she was willing to shoot when she was younger. She realizes, however, that she cannot reverse the course of events.
“I wouldn’t do it now,” she added, while adding, “You also can’t spend your time trying to take back these moments or moments when you were too attractive or think that being a woman is simply this or that.
I also believe that as you grow older, you develop boobs and everything expands and becomes more intense. When you begin to like someone, everything changes.” The 25-year-old also attempts to maintain perspective.
“But I actually came out very clean,” she added. “I could have done a lot worse, as many teens do. I didn’t experience any major mental health concerns or become caught in a really dark place where you don’t want to get out of bed. I mean, I’ve been there, but I’ve been really fortunate.”
The former Disney princess has been candid about her path to success. She struggled with “crippling anxiety” as a child and began using marijuana, which she credits with relieving her tension. She is now the proprietor of her own cannabis company, Forbidden Flowers, and a fixture on the indie film scene.
Despite her accomplishments, Thorne says she is tired of “being mocked for stepping outside of the house,” and that people are eager to label her. It’s an experience that makes her “uncomfortable” and prevents her from having “my own thoughts or opinions.”
She has also battled with media misogyny in the past, fielding unpleasant questions from journalists. Thorne told The Hollywood Reporter that she previously received invasive questions relating her prior sexual abuse to her sexuality.
“I recall once at an interview, someone telling me that they felt I was uptight or that I preferred women because I had been raped by a male. What a f***ing thing to ask me, I thought. I was perplexed.
It took me a long time to answer at all. I just ended up yelling at them “Thorne described the encounter. “How do you think it’s okay for you to go so far as to bring up these two topics in my life and shove them together like that? Oh my gosh. What does that imply about other people in my situation?”
Thorne, on the other hand, claims she has no idea why she is routinely dubbed a controversial person. She told the Daily Beast last year that she believes it all boils down to slut-shaming.
“I’ve not been arrested. I’m not doing anything wrong “She elaborated. “Of course, I am a woman, and that certainly plays a role. If I post in a bikini, the response is’she’s a slut,’ but if a man posts shirtless on a beach, the response is ‘F*** yeah, buddy.
‘If a man posts with a different lady every other day, it’s ‘F*** yeah, buddy, keep getting that p****,’ but if I’m in a three-year relationship, break up, and then get into another three-year relationship, it’s ‘Wow, Bella Thorne, she’s a ho. Take a look at her. ‘What?’ I’m like. I’ve always been in long-term relationships!”