Chloë Grace Moretz is speaking on a viral meme that came from a Family Guy episode which contributed to her struggle with anxiety and body dysmorphia.
In a recent interview with Hunger Magazine, the Kick-A– star said, “There was one meme that really affected me, of me walking into a hotel with a pizza box in my hand. And this photo got manipulated into a character from Family Guy with the long legs and the short torso, and it was one of the most widespread memes at the time.”
In a season 10 episode titled “Amish Guy”, a character (based on the photo of Moretz) is introduced by the name of Legs Go All The Way Up Griffin, who is the great aunt of Peter Griffin. The character has exaggerated proportions: very long legs and a short torso.
The actress, who has spoken out against body shaming in the past, revealed that the meme made her feel powerless about discussions surrounding her own body, especially when everyone else appeared to be in on the joke. “Everyone was making fun of my body and I brought it up with someone and they were like, ‘Oh, shut the f— up, it’s funny,'” she recalled. “And I just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it’s something that I can’t change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram.”
The meme had a lasting impact on Moretz, 25, adding, “To this day, when I see that meme, it’s something very hard for me to overcome.” After the meme became viral, the actress said that she felt “kind of sad” and largely turned away from the public eye. “It took a layer of something that I used to enjoy, which was getting dressed up and going to a carpet and taking a photo, and made me super self-conscious,” she shared. “And I think that body dysmorphia — which we all deal with in this world — is extrapolated by the issues of social media. It’s a headf—.”
While she has continued to star in multiple film projects — including Mother/Android, Tom & Jerry and the animated The Addams Family films — Moretz noted that she “basically became a recluse” outside of her onscreen appearances. “It was great because I got away from the photographers and I was able to be myself and to have so many experiences that people didn’t photograph,” she said, “But at the same time it made me severely anxious when I was photographed. My heart rate would rise and I would hyperventilate.”
“To say that these past two years have been transformative is an understatement, to say the least,” Moretz said. “I’m a very different girl than I was. I feel like a woman now.”
Moretz is due to star in the sci-fi thriller series The Peripheral, which is due for release on October 21 on Amazon Prime. Watch the teaser below: