Ashley Graham isn't afraid to show off her cellulite

SI Staff | Apr 25, 2017

This story was written by Jonathan Borge and originally appeared on InStyle.com.

You know you’ve made it when you’re not only one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People, but the one and only Tyra Banks is the supermodel to pen the essay in your honor.

That’s the case for Ashley Graham, who hit the red carpet Tuesday night at the 2017 TIME 100 Gala to celebrate her inclusion in this year’s list of powerful, outspoken leaders. As expected, Ashley let her loud, contagious laugh roar from one far end of the carpet to the other, but it’s her bold words that moved us. The body activist happily opened up about what she thinks are the greatest hurdles young women face today.

“I think that a lot of women judge themselves and they judge themselves on the way that they look, whether it’s skin, age, race, size, class, all of it,” she told InStyle. “And if you saw just the woman in the mirror and you really accepted her for who she was and you started looking at yourself as a role model, that might change your life.” Preach!

That alone could have been enough to drop the mic, but Ashley also divulged on a moment in which she truly felt she used her celebrity to positively impact others. “When I sat down and took a photo of my cellulite and posted it on Instagram. I think there’s nothing more real than that. It’s there. I’m not afraid to talk about it. I’m not afraid to show it. And I don’t think that other women should be ashamed of theirs as well,” she told us.

As for whether she gets nervous to share similar images on social media, what do you think? “No! C’mon. It’s my body. It’s my lumps and bumps. I’m into it. My husband doesn’t care. Neither should the world.”

BONUS: See some of Ashley's hottest moments from SI Swimsuit!

Ashley Graham, SI Swimsuit 2016

Published Apr 25, 2017