LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Twilight star Taylor Lautner reacted with a powerful message after he received hateful comments about his physical appearance. The 31-year-old actor posted a video on Instagram addressing the negative remarks about how he has "aged" and shared an impactful message about why putting "value" on oneself is of the utmost importance.
"I just got back from a run. I was feeling really good about myself, you know, trying to stay healthy, both physically and mentally," Lautner started. "And I felt compelled to share something with you because when I got back from that run, I hopped on Instagram." Lautner, who played the werewolf Jacob Black in the movie, added that he saw a recent post about him and his wife, Taylor Lautner, after they appeared on a talk show in New York for promoting their mental health podcast 'The Squeeze,' last week.
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What did Lautner say?
"I read a post from last week when Tay and I were in New York to do press about the squeeze," he continued. "And we went on this show, and they recently posted about it, and I was going through the comments and it brought up old feelings and memories why I don't look through comments, but I'm in a different place now, and I just felt compelled to share this with you. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna play a little, I'm gonna show you the comments and then I'll be right back."
The video also featured screenshots that contained terrible comments from trolls about Lautner's appearance. "He did not age well goodness," a critic wrote, while another added, "He aged like a raisin." "Damn looks like s---," another said. Lautner continued after showing the screenshots, "Those comments are all from one single post, which is crazy, but that's the world we live in, and there's only so much we can do to change it."
The actor recalls past struggles
Lautner said that although the hateful comments do affect him in small ways, he is not as bothered anymore as he would be in the past when he was in a "really unhealthy position."
"I think what I really wanted to say is if this was, if this was 10 years ago, five years ago, maybe even two, three years ago, that really would've got under my skin, and it would've caused me to want to just go in a hole and not go outside," Lautner said. "Definitely don't do press and interviews and put myself in the position where, you know, I have to see that kind of stuff. But at a certain point, it was not even go out, not go to a grocery store, not go where if I was seen, you know, I could take a picture, and it could end up on the internet, and I would have to see that stuff."
"And that was a really unhealthy position to be in," he continued. "And the reason I was in that position, and the reason it affected me as much as it did, is because my value was in the wrong things."
'You find value where you put it'
The actor then went to on to say that you need to put your "value" in yourself. "You find value where you put it, and if you put your value in what other people think of you, that's how you're gonna feel," he said. "But if you put your value in you, knowing who you are, what's important to you, what you love, that kind of stuff won't get to you. And I'm just so thankful that I am in the place I am today where I can see that. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna say it doesn't bug me. I wouldn't be on here posting this video if it didn't bother me at all, but it doesn't make me question who I am, and it doesn't take anything away from me."
"So I think my biggest point is just think about and remember where you put your value in life. And also just be nice," he concluded. "It's not that difficult. Let's be nice to each other. Let's spread love and positivity. It's that simple. I love you guys, and I hope you have a great rest of your day. Spread love," Lautner captioned the video, adding a hashtag for Mental Health Awareness Month.
