Singer CMAT slammed body-shaming trolls in a lengthy Instagram post following her iconic performance at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend11:16, 29 May 2026Updated 11:16, 29 May 2026CMAT has called out the ongoing abuse and body-shaming she has been faced with following her performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend last weekend.‌The Stay For Something singer, 30, performed at the annual festival in Sunderland alongside Zara Larsson, Olivia Dean, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson.‌However, despite putting on an incredible show, the star - real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson - was forced to address the comments regarding her body and “how horribly” she is treated because of her looks.‌Taking to Instagram, she shared a photo of herself with screenshots of an essay by Front Row Feels on Substack, alongside the lengthy caption: “This isn’t going to be a nice post so I decided to cushion the blow by leading with a picture where I look literally amazing.‌“I have had Insta/TikTok/ Twitter deleted from my phone for some time now for the preservation of my mental health, but the discourse this week appears to be so large that it has still gotten back to me. As such I felt compelled to wade in and speak for myself!!!“It’s been very hard to try and describe how difficult the last few days since the bbcr1 big weekend have been, but i came across an essay on Substack by a blog called Front Row Feels which really has summed up a lot of what is causing my deep sadness, so I decided to add it into my post.”“It is literally so boring for me, a gorgeous genius, to keep having to yap on about how horribly I am treated because of my body,” she continued. “I would love to stop but I cannot because it keeps happening, at an accelerating and worsening pace as I become more famous. There is no relief from this - nobody can protect me or save me from this, and all that is demanded of me is more and more work as every environment I am placed in becomes more hostile.‌“I also want to point out, to some very well-meaning people, that I am not being defiant. I am not choosing to look like this or weigh this much as some kind of punk rock act of liberty. I simply have a body, one that I would of course like to change in order to fit in and avoid all of this abuse, but I have had extreme difficulty in doing so. I don't get a say in whether or not I want to be brave, I simply have to sit here and take it.“With all that being said, I am at the same time very very happy and grateful every day to have the job that I have. The feeling of seeing all your dreams come true after so many years of constant grinding towards them….. chefs kiss. But the success is increasingly becoming tarnished by the fact that I would be allowed to enjoy it so much more if I was thin.”‌Ciara signed off the caption “with deep sadness”, before adding: “PS it’s time to start throwing pints in mens’ faces again!!!! Bring it back for summer 26.”Lauren Laverne was among those sharing their support in the comments section, declaring: “Sometimes it feels like so little has changed in the past 20 years. It’s infuriating. You are brave - not because of anything to do with how you look, but for how you use your voice.“There are so many young girls watching and looking up to you. They absolutely deserve better than the idiots making s****y comments, but they are lucky to have you. Keep on keeping on. You rule. Xx.”‌“You are absolutely brilliant and gorgeous and I love you and your genius music and perfect live shows,” a fan agreed, while another wrote: “I am sorry this is happening to you. We are so lucky to have you and your music in our world.”This isn’t the first time that the California musician has addressed trolls over her looks - in 2024, she claimed that the BBC disabled comments underneath her previous performance at Radio 1’s Big Weekend, following nasty messages about her weight.Article continues belowAt the time, Ciara tweeted: “Yesterday the BBC had to turn comments off a video of me performing at Big Weekend because so many people were calling me fat in the comments. Today a different video of me at the BRIT awards is going viral on South American TikTok and now people are calling me fat in Spanish.”“I didn’t realise it was ILLEGAL to have a HUGE ASS!!!! I am GUILTY as CHARGED it is time to lock me up and throw away THE KEY!!!!!,” she added in a follow-up post. “By the way I am an award winning songwriter that has released two albums which were received to ‘universal acclaim’.”Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .