Nick Viall is no stranger to judgement. After all, he's starred on "The Bachelorette," "The Bachelor," "Bachelor in Paradise" and "Dancing With the Stars" in recent years and has been regarded as a villain, a victim and everything in between.
But some fans took things too far when they criticized Nick's body and accused him of being too thin and not eating enough in the comments of a recent Instagram post — so the podcast host hit back.
It began on June 15 when Nick shared a shirtless selfie taken with his iPhone and captioned it, "Because I get dumped AGAIN on National TV tonight," a reference to the re-airing of Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of "The Bachelorette" in which she turned down his marriage proposal.
Many fans commented on his appearance in the snapshot, writing things like, "90lbs soaking wet… I am sure there is a steak with your name on it," "Noooo nooo don't like this look. Way too skinny," "Dude…do you eat??" and "Go eat a burger!!!😩😩😩."
Nick wasn't having it. On June 16, he posted another mirror selfie from a slightly different angle that was snapped with a digital camera alongside a note warning fans to be careful about what they say. "Dear internet. I never thought you would make me self conscious about my body. Yet I woke up to hundreds of comments on my last post about my weight, eating habits, and mental health all from posting a post workout pic where I looked particularly lean," Nick began.
"I have never lacked confidence about my body (I know this isn't news to most of you) but if the internet can get to me it can get to anyone. So Im just saying, be-careful with your words before you give your feedback on peoples physical, emotional, or mental health," he continued. "I don't want to even admit that the comments made me feel self-conscious, but I assume many of you would think I can't be bothered. So I'm here to say it did. I hope thats ok."
Nick defended his body and explained his commitment to being healthy. "I don't feel like I should have to say that the past few months I have been running 4 miles a day and feel like I am in the best shape of my life. Or that I eat bacon and snickers ice cream bars everyday," he wrote. "If told you how much pasta I eat, I would just annoy you."
He concluded his post with more serious words and some of his trademark confidence. "The point is, the next time you want to criticize someone based on a bad angle, just be careful. A pic doesn't tell people's story. You could be stripping down months of work and process someone has made on their own self improvement," he wrote. "And god forbid you cause them to never want to post shirtless selfie again. Me…I'll be ok (Im still pretty sure I look fantastic naked)."