Sports Illustrated model Robyn Lawley took to her Instagram page to defend herself, as well as the publication, against critics who have labeled her as “plus size.”
The 25-year-old Australian native, who stands at 6-foot-2 and is a size 12, thinks it’s time for women to start loving and embracing their natural curves. She also emphasized the fact that Sports Illustrated never once labeled her as a plus sized model.
“It’s ludicrous to call me plus size and I’ve stated that publicly pretty much every step of the way, of my career, @si_swimsuit are at the forefront of embracing women of a variety of sizes!” she said.
She continued: “They’ve been doing that from the beginning and they have not once called me plus size, it’s about time we forgo labels and embraced size diversity in the fashion world and mainstream media!!! #loveyournaturalsize,” she continued.
The model also spoke to The Today Show about the difficulty of breaking into the fashion world because of her size.
“When I first started I really had an immense hate for my body. I held it really accountable for holding me back,” said Lawley. “I just felt disappointed, you know, I was like, ‘Why didn’t I get a skinny body?’ [This is] such a feat and I’m really happy and I’m so thrilled with Sports Illustrated for using me.”
Lawley, who is now pregnant and expected to give birth any day, posed for the swimsuit magazine only a month into her pregnancy. In one of the images, she’s shown baring toned abs and legs in front of a snow-capped mountain.
Lawley was revealed by the media to be the “plus-size” model earlier this week, after numerous outlets inaccurately reported advertising model Ashley Graham, who could be considered plus-sized, would be featured in the mag.