NEWS'Made Me Self-Conscious': Chloë Grace Moretz Became 'A Recluse' After 'Horrific' 'Family Guy' Meme Went Viral
Sep. 28 2022, Published 4:56 p.m. ET
When a meme of Chloë Grace Moretz went viral, the actress wasn't able to shrug it off — instead, she cooped up at home.
In 2016, the actress, 25, was photographed carrying two pizza boxes while sporting heels, shorts and a top. The photograph was then altered so that it looked like a character from Family Guy, Legs Go All the Way Up Griffin. In the cartoon, the character's legs are long, while the midsection is shortened.
“There was one meme that really affected me, of me walking into a hotel with a pizza box in my hand,” the blonde beauty recalled after it popped up on the internet. “This photo got manipulated into a character from Family Guy with the long legs and the short torso, and it was one of the most widespread memes at the time.”
“Everyone was making fun of my body and I brought it up with someone and they were like, ‘Oh, shut the f** k up, it’s funny,’" the Hollywood starlet added.
The meme hit close to home, as Moretz suffered from body dysmorphia.
“I just remember sitting there and thinking, ‘My body is being used as a joke and it’s something that I can’t change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram,'" she recalled. “[I] basically became a recluse. To this day, when I see that meme, it’s something very hard for me to overcome.”
Moretz didn't mind being alone, as it was a chance for her to “get away from the photographers, and I was able to be myself.”
“[I was able to] have so many experiences that people didn’t photograph,” she said. “But at the same time, it made me severely anxious when I was photographed. My heart rate would rise and I would hyperventilate.”
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After the photo made the rounds, it was tough for her to go out in public — especially to events.
“It took a layer of something that I used to enjoy, which was getting dressed up and going to a carpet and taking a photo, and made me super self-conscious,” she shared. “I think that body dysmorphia — which we all deal with in this world — is extrapolated by the issues of social media. It’s a headf**k,” she said.
Despite stepping away from the spotlight, Moretz is ready for what's to come.
“To say that these past two years have been transformative is an understatement, to say the least,” she said. “I’m a very different girl than I was. I feel like a woman now.”
Moretz spoke with Hunger magazine.
