CMAT Responds to Body-Shaming Abuse Following Radio 1 Big Weekend Performance
Singer-songwriter CMAT has expressed her "deep sadness" regarding the body-shaming abuse she encountered after her performance at Radio 1's Big Weekend music festival.
The Irish artist revealed she has endured a "difficult" few days following her set in Sunderland due to online comments targeting her weight.
CMAT clarified that she is "not choosing to look like this or weigh this much as some kind of punk rock act of liberty" but simply has "a body."
This is not the first time the country singer has addressed fat-shaming online. Earlier in 2024, she mentioned that the BBC disabled comments on a video of her performing at Big Weekend in Luton.
CMAT, whose birth name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, performed on the main stage of Big Weekend on Sunday evening, preceding headliner Olivia Dean.
She addressed the recent body-shaming abuse in an Instagram post on Thursday, stating she felt compelled to "wade in and speak for myself."
"It is literally so boring for me, a gorgeous genius, to keep having to yap on about how horribly I am treated because of my body," she wrote.
The singer expressed a desire to "stop" discussing the issue but said she cannot, "because it keeps happening, at an accelerating and worsening pace as I become more famous."
"There is no relief from this - nobody can protect me or save me from this, and all that is demanded of me is more and more work as every environment I am placed in becomes more hostile."
Comments have been disabled on videos of CMAT's Big Weekend performances on Radio 1's Instagram, whereas comments remain enabled for posts about other artists.
beat has reached out to Radio 1 for a comment on this matter.
'Toxic Comment Sections' and Fan Essay Highlight Disparities
CMAT also shared screenshots of a Substack essay written by a fan named Front Row Feels, which she said "really has summed up a lot of what is causing my deep sadness."
The essay compared the treatment CMAT received with that of fellow Big Weekend performers Zara Larsson and Olivia Dean.
"What struck me most while scrolling through those toxic comment sections was the glaring disparity in how different women on that same lineup were treated," Front Row Feels wrote.
During her set in Sunderland, CMAT reminded the audience of the "very nasty comments" about her physical appearance that followed her 2024 festival appearance.
"It's crazy because I'm actually very sexy," she said, before performing her hit "Take A Sexy Picture Of Me," a song that critiques the extreme beauty standards imposed on women.
Last year, CMAT revealed that some of the insults she received after Big Weekend in Luton inspired that song.
"I was just wearing clothes and everyone was very annoyed at me for that," she told Radio 1's Jack Saunders at the time.
When asked for further comment, CMAT's team declined to provide additional statements.
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