Bella Thorne called out “inappropriate” sexualization of herself as a minor as she attended the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
Thorne, 25, claimed a man looking to get her autograph on a bunch of items only wanted her to sign “sexy” images of her — which included one of her at 16 years old.
“I normally don’t tell them off but they offended me,” Thorne explained after being asked about the group of autograph seekers while being interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter. “It was this guy and he was shoving photos in front of me and I looked away for a second and looked back and there was a photo of me from my GQ magazine cover.”
“It’s super sexy and my butt is out and I’m wearing lingerie and I’m topless,” she added. “I said I wouldn’t sign that and he took it away and then put it back in front of me again. I said, ‘No, I’m not signing that.’ He pulled out another photo of a magazine with another sexy image. He was like, ‘Come on, Bella. Sign it for me.’ I didn’t like it. It was inappropriate.”
Thorne emphasized that she doesn’t necessarily care about signing autographs for people, but she took issue with the specific images of herself that he wanted to be signed.
“There was some stuff there from a Candies campaign that I did when I was 16 and it was clear that he wanted me to sign things that were viewed as sexy and even underage and I was like, ‘Give me something else.’ He said, ‘Aren’t they all sexy?’ No, enough is enough,” she continued. “But I get it, they have to make money and everyone has a job so I get that. It was just that I was under 18 and it’s inappropriate.”
The former Disney Channel star admitted she “definitely” rethinks some of those images as she’s gotten older.
“Definitely, but it’s just that, I wouldn’t do that now. You also can’t spend your time trying to take back these moments or moments that you were too sexy or think that being a woman is only this or that,” Thorne explained. “That’s what my other short addresses, it’s about growing up and being told from a very young age or by experiences that life as a woman means that people are either going to take something from you or you’re going to give it to them. It’s not always going to be your choice. And how do you deal with that?”
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