Ilona Maher Sends Strong Worded Message to Critics After Fighting Body Shaming for Years

Ilona Maher is out here changing the game, and she’s doing it one bold lipstick look at a time. If you’ve seen her on the rugby field, you know she’s not your average athlete. She’s not just tackling opponents—she’s tackling the stereotypes that come with being a woman in sports. After a viral TikTok where she confidently responded to body shaming, Maher made it clear: “I do have a BMI of 30 – or 29.3, to be more exact,” but that doesn’t define her. Her fitness, her strength, her worth? Those come from her heart, her hustle, and her passion. And honestly, it’s a much-needed message for anyone who’s ever felt judged based on how they look. But hold on, she is doing even more than that to challenge conventions!

But Maher isn’t just out here flipping the script on what it means to be feminine in sports. Imagine this: you’re playing a tough, physical game like rugby, and instead of leaving your beauty behind, you rock lipstick on the field. Yep, Maher does that as she recently revealed on Instagram with House of Maher. “One thing I do is wear lipstick when I play, which you all know I’ve always found interesting—especially being put in that box of ‘rugby player,’” she says. While most people think rugby is about being big, strong, and masculine, Maher is showing that you don’t have to fit into that mold to be a great player. You can be fierce AND feminine and look good doing it.

Ilona Maher’s words hit home when she talks about how she and other athletes are taking control of their own narrative. “I see girls putting on a full face before they go play, and I think it’s us kind of taking back our own narrative—saying like an ‘FU’ to those who think we have to leave our beauty, our femininity, at the door when we go play this tough sport.” She’s talking about how women are reclaiming their power—refusing to be told they can’t be strong, skilled, and stylish all at once.

“You don’t have to sacrifice your femininity to play any sport,” Maher says, and that couldn’t be more true. There’s no need to choose between tough and beautiful—the Olympian is on a mission to prove that you can be both. Her message is simple but powerful: be unapologetically yourself. Whether you’re on the field, in the gym, or anywhere else, embracing all parts of who you are makes you unstoppable. So, next time someone tells you that you have to fit into a box, just think of Ilona Maher—rocking her lipstick, redefining what it means to be a woman in sports. And at the same time, shutting the critics too with his bold words.

Ilona Maher is shutting down body standards in sports

Ilona Maher has faced her fair share of body shaming, and she’s handled it with an incredible amount of grace and confidence. Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 200 pounds, Maher has often been on the receiving end of cruel comments about her appearance, especially in a world that places such a heavy emphasis on body size and shape. Despite the unpleasant feedback she received, she decided to leverage it into promoting her stance against the excessive pressure women athletes face.

Maher took a moment to defend her body before winning the Olympic Bronze medal during the Paris competition, “I do have a BMI of 30… but alas, I’m going to the Olympics, and you’re not.” Her body, coupled with training and resilience, pushed her to the pinnacle of glory. The same body that doesn’t fit conventional standards, propelled her to unprecedented success.

Through breaking past hateful comments about her body, Ilona Maher takes her platform to champion body positivity. Her online community currently surpasses 6 million followers as she illustrates her path toward self-acceptance, revealing to everyone that strength and beauty exist across every body structure. Through her work, she engages in mission-based efforts to combat traditional beauty norms while promoting body self-acceptance in others. As she says, “I think it’s important to show that there’s no one way to look or feel strong,” which speaks to her belief that everyone deserves to feel confident in their own skin. In doing so, she’s not just changing the conversation around body image in sports; she’s helping to redefine it for women everywhere.

The post Ilona Maher Sends Strong Worded Message to Critics After Fighting Body Shaming for Years appeared first on EssentiallySports.