Drew Barrymore breaks down over childhood weight criticism

Drew Barrymore opened up about the painful body-shaming she endured as a child star.

On a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the Golden Globe-winning actress teared up while looking at a photo of herself at age 10.

She recalled being told she was “too heavy” and didn’t look like she did in E.T., the breakout role that made her famous at just 7 years old.

“This picture… it just breaks my heart,” Barrymore said.

“I was 10 years old and I just was told by everybody, ‘You don’t look how you did in E.T. You’re too heavy. You’re not blonde enough. You’re not old enough. You’re too young. You’re not tall.’ And everybody just started getting involved in the way I looked.”

Barrymore admitted that such comments had already been happening for years by the time she was 10.

Reflecting on her younger self’s gaze in the photo, she said, “It’s like, I don’t know what I’m supposed to be for other people. And you don’t know yourself at 10.”

Golden Globe winner said she now at 50 has found clarity and strength.

“What I’m so relieved about now is that it’s four decades later… I do know what’s important now, and the look in my eyes is so clear,” she explained.

She emphasized that true happiness is a choice, even if it takes years to believe it:

“It’s a battle and a beautiful, internal war that we fight on the front lines, day in and day out, to get to a place where we can actually say this sentence and believe it, which is: ‘I deserve happiness.’”

The Drew Barrymore Show host also directed her message to younger viewers who may feel pressured by unfair beauty standards.

She encouraged them to hold on to the belief that self-worth is not defined by others.