Jasmine Guy responds to backlash over her looks: 'Growing older brings change'
'A Different World' star Jasmine Guy is shutting down online critics targeting her appearance.
Jasmine Guy has become the latest celebrity to face backlash on social media following her appearance.
The actress, best known for her role as Whitley Gilbert on 'A Different World', recently appeared in the 2026 Netflix sequel, which debuted on 24 September.
The 64-year-old was criticised by some social media users, saying she "aged horribly", despite the original series having aired from 1987 to 1993.
Following the backlash, Guy took to social media and posted a video of herself looking stunning in an olive dress while addressing how brutal social media can be.
"The internet can be brutal to women as we grow older," she said.
She added that while people are encouraged to live their lives, they often refuse to acknowledge the changes that come with growth.
"It asks us to celebrate life while criticising every sign that we’ve lived it," she said.
Guy went on to acknowledge that growing older brings change and that not every change is easy.
"Growing older brings change, and I won't pretend every change is easy. But beauty, style, and joy don't have an expiration date," she added.
The conversation around Guy’s looks comes months after singer Brandy faced backlash over her looks. She also took to social media to respond, urging users to be more considerate.
"Perhaps we’ve been looking for it in all the wrong places. In youth. In perfection. In approval. In bodies that never change and faces that never age. But life was never meant to leave us untouched. It shapes us. It humbles us. It refines us. Every season leaves its signature upon us. And maybe that’s where beauty has been all along. Not in escaping change, but in becoming through it," she wrote.
In 2018, former 'Generations' star Sophie Ndaba was also the target of body shaming. Photos of her circulated on social media, with some claiming she is dying.
At the time, the media personality explained that she lost weight due to her struggles with diabetes.
"Living with diabetes doesn’t mean my life must stop. It means I will fight to live and encourage those who already are suffering from this deadly disease," she wrote.
“I'm gaining it slowly through protein diets, and I'm going to reach my target weight, but I have to do it the healthy way," she added.
In another post, she wrote: "Living with this deadly disease, diabetes for almost a decade has taught me not to take life for granted. Being attacked, teased, and laughed at was nothing! Even being declared dead most times was nothing! Let me tell you, living with Diabetes is not something you wish on your enemy. It's uncomfortable, painful, confusing, deadly and requires 24/7 monitoring!"
Read about more celebrities who have had to deal with body shamming here.
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