Fans of Catie Turner, a finalist from Season 16 of “American Idol” in 2018, expressed significant concerns about her health after recent photos surfaced in her Instagram post from February 14.
In the post, Turner acknowledged her 25th birthday with several new images, which she captioned by stating, “crossing the rainbow bridge today as i turn 25. when HAGS stops being ‘have a great summer’ and turns into a word to describe u and ur gworls. im being moved from the khia asylum into the abdul home effective immediately 🙏🏻🙏🏻😭”
While some comments sent best wishes and empathy over the realities of getting older, many voiced sincere worries regarding Turner’s health. One stated, “Her weight loss is looking concerning,” and a follower named “_healyourhealth_” said, “Oh girl sending you all the strength and love 😢❤️” Another comment said, “i’m worried because 5 years ago she spoke about having an eating disorder and this isn’t looking healthy 😢”
Comments Pour In Wishing Catie Turner Well After Photos Surface
The comments of concern continued the next day on Reddit after a fan posted a link to Turner’s Instagram page with the heading, “Really loved Catie Turner on Idol, her recent post on insta made me really concerned about her current physical and mental health.”
The fan would also add, “I know she’s been open about ED, this is not meant to shame her at all… but she looks unwell. I hope she can find some resources and support. I didn’t recognize her when the post first popped up. This post was in celebration of her 25th birthday.”
A bevy of respondents made similar statements, including one who said, “Poor thing looks unrecognizable. I hope she is getting help. It seems like EDs are very back in fashion in Hollywood. Something needs to be done to promote healthy weights in the industry. These people don’t realize how much everyday little girls look up to them, think they are the most beautiful things, and want to look just like them at any cost.”
Catie Turner Has Openly Discussed Her Issues With Mental Health, Eating Disorders
Turner – who became a fan favorite on “American Idol” after singing her “quirky original song” in the audition that can be seen on YouTube – has been candid in the past about her issues with eating disorders, body image and mental health, often speaking out about the daily challenges in interviews as well as on social media. She shared a short video on TikTok on March 21, 2019 with a telling message written across it that read, “once I posted a before and after of me losing 70+ lbs due to an ED on instagram basically saying “please god I am so miserable please (expletive) help help” and it got 11k likes in 9 minutes of everyone asking me for weight loss advice and congratulating me.”
In an interview with Stage Right Secrets that was published eight days after that TikTok video, Turner talked about using her platform to encourage more discussion about mental health and eating disorders.
“We all battle demons – and it can be the most isolating feeling in the world,” she said. “I still battle my own and I have the unique situation of having affectionate words thrown at me whenever I so much as tweet. No matter how big you get in your career, you cannot run from mental illness; no amount of retweets or likes on an Instagram post will reward you with the cure. It’s a daily battle. I want to be as transparent as I can with my audience. I want to build that relationship and let them know that it is OKAY to talk about it and to be open. I want to fight the stigma that labels mental illness as a dirty word or a taboo topic.”
Comments
‘American Idol’ Fans Voice Concerns Over Health of Former Finalist