Someone Actually Complimented Lily Collins on Her Weight Loss for 'To The Bone'

Face, Hair, Eyebrow, Skin, Head, Forehead, Nose, Chin, Beauty, Eye, — (Image credit: Netflix)

Lily Collins' new movie To The Bone has already been met with lots of mixed opinions. Collins plays Ellen, a girl with anorexia, and some have criticized the film's depiction of the illness and expressed fears that it will glamorize eating disorders.

Collins, who has been open about her past struggles with eating disorders, lost weight (under supervision) for the emotional role. In a new interview with Net-A-Porter's digital magazine The Edit, she opened up about the most shocking reaction to her weight loss for the film—a compliment.

"I was leaving my apartment one day and someone I've known for a long time, my mom's age, said to me, 'Oh, wow, look at you!'" Collins said. "I tried to explain [I had lost weight for a role] and she goes, 'No! I want to know what you're doing, you look great!' I got into the car with my mom and said, 'That is why the problem exists.'"

However, most people were concerned by the weight loss, even with the understanding that it was for a movie role. Collins explained that publicity became difficult for a while, as many magazines didn't feel comfortable featuring her at her low weight.

"Not just on the cover—they wouldn't put me inside looking the way I did, even though it was for a movie," she said. "I told my publicist that if I could snap my fingers and gain 10 pounds right that second, I would."

The movie hit close to home for Collins and her family. She described her mother's reaction to the film.

"The first time she was a bit in shock. The second time I looked over at the end and she was sobbing; it really hit her hard," Collins explained.

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Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.