2020-01-01_InStyle_Australia

(coco) #1

CB: We’re saying what other people want to hear; just being


clever about it. People are tired of being hit over the head...


told what to believe in. I just want people to have a laugh, and,


also, “Hey, maybe now you feel better!” I never started this to


be a body-positive thing, but I’m so happy and proud that it


has turned out that way and I am caught up in that movement.


It’s that adage about if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. Speaking


of which, Celeste, is it accurate that you had a bit of a cry


following your hilarious shoot with Tom Ford in September


2018, when you were one of his runway models?


CB: I didn’t have a little bit of a cry; I stood in the shower at the


hotel they put me up in and sobbed like a baby. It was one of


the most satisfying things I’ve ever done in my life creatively. He


was an absolute delight. When I came in, I was immediately on


his level. And I heard him talking about me when he didn’t know


I could hear him, saying, “She’s incredible. Just keep the camera


on her.” And he would just laugh and let me totally control it


because he trusted me. That’s why I cried later, because I was


like, “Wow, I really stepped into my power here, and I’ve been


validated by the sexiest, gayest man in the whole wide world.”


You’ve both had serious health scares. [Jamil had an eating


disorder when she was younger and was involved in a car


accident at age 17 that left her unable to walk for almost


two years. Barber had emergency open-heart surgery


when she was 25.] Has that caused you to re-evaluate


what you want to put out into the world?


JJ: For sure. It’s obviously a really upsetting thing to go through,


but I’d never take it back. I feel free because of what my body


has been through. I [still] struggle with body dysmorphia, but


it’s nothing compared with what it would’ve been if I hadn’t


been forced to look at my body as this incredible machine that


does so much for me. I believe we can’t do enough to teach


people about gratitude. I hope that other people don’t have to


go through what Celeste and I have gone through to get that.


Enjoy this life while you can. Also, we only get taught to think


about the outside, never the inside, and it’s not right.


CB: Exactly. The inside is an afterthought. I look great, but I’m


hungry. When I got sick, I had to have open-heart surgery, so


all I could do was focus on the inside, and it was out of my


control. When you do turn your attention inward, you can’t


then turn your back on it. And you think, “This body’s pretty


excellent and I’m going to get on with it. We’re all dead in a


minute.” When you have those sorts of scares, you’re like,


“Wow, what am I going to do to make this life better?”


JJ: Most of my health problems came from what I did to myself


while trying to be thin. I have a kidney that is always in trouble,


literally because of all the detox and diet products I took. I have


bone-density problems because I didn’t eat enough when


I was in my teens and 20s. My heart is thinner than it should be


because when you don’t eat enough, your body stretches muscle
before it stretches fat, and your heart is muscle. I feel like it’s my

responsibility to educate. That’s why I rally so aggressively—I’m
living in the body I hurt because society told me my size was
the most important thing in the world and it wasn’t.

What do your respective families think about your being
so outspoken and visible? Celeste, you have kids. Do they
ever say, “Oh, you’ve gone too far”?

CB: My family’s like, “Yes, finally! People can finally see what
you’ve always been doing.” I’m very lucky. I’ve also retired my

husband, so he is very supportive. He’s now a full-time dad.
We have a five-year-old and an eight-year-old, and he also
has his teenaged daughters, so, you know, I’ve retired him

from that job and put him onto the other job.
Do you have people you follow who are your confidants?
JJ: My top three are Celeste, Jonathan Van Ness and Sam Smith.

CB: Aw, yes! So happy I made the list. The industry, to me,
is comedy and acting. I am known for Instagram, but where I

want to be and what I’m getting more into is writing and acting,
the stuff I’ve been trained in and doing for the past 15 years. The
people I gravitate toward are Tina Fey, Melissa McCarthy,

Maya Rudolph, Amy Schumer, those kinds of excellent women.
But I’m exactly like Jameela when it comes to social media.
I have a handful of accounts I go to to make me laugh. Jameela

definitely, Gary Janetti, Overheard LA...okay, back to this shoot.
What have been some of your best nights out?
CB: This is going to sound annoying, but mine was my

wedding. We got married in Bali and it was the best. We
danced until 3am. That was six years ago.

JJ: One of my best nights out ever was New Year’s Eve a couple of
years ago with my mates. I’d never had a good New Year’s Eve,
but this was a pyjama party where everybody had to bring their

own feather pillow, and instead of kissing each other at 12am,
we had a massive pillow fight. I wish there were more things
like that, with the focus on fun rather than social pressure. ■

I NEVER STARTED


THIS TO BE A


BODY-POSITIVE


THING, BUT I’M SO


HAPPY AND PROUD


THAT IT HAS TURNED


OUT THAT WAY”


— CELESTE BARBER

JANUARY 2020 INSTYLE 83
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