Almost a decade after she controversially made the bold statement that 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels', Kate Moss has retracted the 'iconic' quote.
In an interview with NBC's Megan Kelly this week, the 44-year-old supermodel admitted she doesn't believe in the mantra and is pleased to see the industry embracing diversity.
Opening up about her remorse at having shared the quote, the British star revealed: 'My friend used to say it, because you know, we were all living together, and we'd go for the biscuits and go: "Oh, nothing tastes as g..." It's a little jingle...
'There's so much more diversity now, I think it's right. There's so many different sizes and colours and heights. Why would you just be a one-size model and being represented for all of these people? So yes, for sure, it's better.'
Moss' original quote caused controversy among mental health and eating disorder campaign groups after WWD Magazine referenced her mantra in a 2009 interview.
Katie Green, a former Ultimo model who launched the 'Say No To Size Zero' campaign the same year said at the time:
'There are 1.1 million eating disorders in the UK alone. Kate Moss's comments are likely to cause many more. If you read any of the pro-anorexia websites, they go crazy for quotes like this.'
In addition, chief executive of eating disorder charity Beat, Susan Ringwood commented: 'This phrase is often used as one of their 10 commandments or mantras.
'And it is young women between the age of 12-20 who are the most at risk from anorexia, which is unfortunately the same group that could be influenced by celebrity culture.'
Following the backlash, a spokeswoman for Moss's former model agency Storm said her comments had been taken out of context.
'This was part of a longer answer Kate gave during a wider ranging interview which has unfortunately been taken out of context and misrepresented,' they said. 'For the record, Kate does not support this as a lifestyle choice.
During her interview with NBC, the model - who launched her own eponymously-named modelling agency in September 2016 - also opened up about being asked to pose topless at the age of 15 and said she wouldn't allow her daughter, Lila Grace Moss Hack, to do the same.
'Yes, there was pressure,' she admitted. 'I worked with a woman photographer called Corinne Day, and she always liked me with no top on, and I did not like it at all when I first started. I wouldn't let my daughter do it.
'I look at her now, and she's 15, and to think that I was going topless at her age is crazy. [I tell models they] don’t have to do it if they don’t want to'.
On whether her daughter - with whom Moss shares with editor Jefferson Hack - will enter the fashion industry, the model says: 'It’s up to her. I’m leaving it up to her.
'I will support her, obviously. I’ll be her manager,' she added with a laugh. 'If she wants to, I’ll support her in anything she wants to do.'
She also revealed the birth of her daughter made her 'never lonely again. I always had my baby' and that the pair are closer than ever.
'We’re hanging out as friends because she’s getting older,' she said. 'We can go shopping together, and it’s really fun.'
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
