Comedian and actress Amy Schumer has clapped back at online trolls who labelled her face “puffy and swollen” following a TV appearance.
After the 42-year-old did a guest spot on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, TikTok users began speculating “What happened to Amy Schumer’s face?”
Social media users, including doctors, were quick to suggest she may have been taking steroids that treat inflammation or that she had received cheek fillers.
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Following her Fallon appearance, Schumer opened up to her 13 million followers about her struggles with endometriosis, which she said had caused her “puffy” appearance.
“Thank you so much for everyone’s input about my face!” Schumer said on Instagram on Friday.
“I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance, as all women do, for almost 20 years.
“And you’re right, it is puffier than normal right now.
“I have endometriosis, an autoimmune disease that every woman should read about.
“There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now but I’m okay.”
Schumer is among one in nine women who suffer from the debilitating condition, in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the womb, sometimes moving to other areas of the body.
Endometriosis can leave those affected in so much pain they are unable to participate in work, social and other life commitments.
“Historically women’s bodies have barely been studied medically compared to men,” she went on.
“The book ‘All in her head’ does a good job explaining this.
“I also believe a woman doesn’t need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation.”
However, the actress said she wished to take the opportunity to “advocate for self-love and acceptance of the skin you’re in”.
“Like every other woman/person, some days I feel confident and good as hell, and others I want to put a bag over my head,” she said.
She went on to share her pride in the show she was promoting on Fallon, called Life & Beth.
“But I feel strong and beautiful and so proud of this TV show I created, wrote, starred in and directed,” she said.
“Maybe just maybe we can focus on that for a little.
“I had backup dancers on Fallon but my face is the headline hahaha.
“Anyway I hope you enjoy life and Beth.
“Love and solidarity. Amy.”
In December 2022, Schumer called endometriosis a “lonely disease” for women, because of its invisibility.
“I’ve been in so much pain, you know, my whole life — not just the week of my period,” she said in the Paramount Plus docuseries, The Checkup With Dr David Agus.
“For months, I had been complaining of pain.
“It was just this pain you can’t see, and there is the inclination to always think a woman is just being dramatic.”
What is endometriosis?
Debilitating, unbearable and chronic – all words to describe endometriosis, a painful disease that affects one in nine people with female reproductive organs.
“Endometriosis is a common disease in which the tissue that is similar to the lining of the womb grows outside it in other parts of the body,” Endometriosis Australia said on its website.
“Whilst endometriosis most often affects the reproductive organs it is frequently found in the bowel and bladder and has been found in muscle, joints, the lungs, and the brain.”
There is no cure for endometriosis, which can also lead to infertility.
Symptoms include:
- Fatigue
- Pain that stops you on or around your period
- Pain during or after sex
- Heavy bleeding or irregular bleeding
- Pain with bowel movements
- Pain when you urinate
- Pain in your pelvic region, lower back or legs
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