Nia Jax Discusses “Body-Shaming”

Unfortunately, Nia Jax is no stranger to body-shaming, both in real life and on WWE programming. But while some viewers might think her current storyline with Alexa Bliss is a bit too real, Jax herself literally thinks it’s “amazing.”

In a candid interview with the UK Mirror, Jax said that body-shaming is something she’s dealt with her entire life – and she thinks it’s fantastic that WWE is tackling the issue head-on:

“… I think it’s something that people know but they don’t want to talk about it, they always want to keep it hidden. I feel like we’re tackling it head-on and it should be (talked about). Young women and young girls, and boys, should actually be hearing this and seeing the conflict that we go through and seeing somebody stand up for themselves and not have to allow somebody to bully them, because of the way they look, what their shape is, or the color of their skin is. You should always stand up for yourself. So I think it’s amazing. I’m very honored to be a part of it.”

Interestingly, Jax also revealed that Bliss’s role as the bully has made the storyline all the more poignant.

It’s crazy how real this storyline is to my real life. And especially with Alexa being such a close, best friend of mine for so long, she has seen it. She [her character] has hurt me [my character], because I’ve confided in [her] a lot of these stories that have happened to me. It surprises me that it has become such a big storyline in WWE, because it relates to me completely.

But, sadly, Jax is far from the only person who can relate to being bullied. Indeed, numerous people took to social media to thank her for using her platform to draw attention to such a widespread issue.

I have to admit: when this storyline first started it made me uncomfortable. WWE has progressed leaps and bounds with how they portray their women, and this storyline felt like a step backward; it seemed a little too reminiscent of the cringe-worthy 2009 “Piggy James” storyline. But after reading Jax’s interview I’ve realized that this time around, WWE is handling the issue of body-shaming with much more candor and tact than they did before, and that is a big step forward in an of itself. WWE is giving Jax a platform to advocate that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and that’s something absolutely worth saying.

What do you think of the Nia Jax-Alexa Bliss body-shaming storyline? Share your candid thoughts below!