Gordon Ramsay has spoken out after a radio DJ called his daughter Tilly “chubby” live on air.
The celebrity chef’s 19-year-old daughter is competing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, and is partnered with pro dancer Nikita Kuzmin.
Last week, Tilly took to Instagram to call out London Broadcasting Company presenter Steve Allen after he called her a “chubby little thing” on air, saying she “won’t tolerate” people publicly commenting on and scrutinising anyone’s weight or appearance.
Speaking on an Instagram Live about the incident, Gordon said he was “proud” of Tilly for standing up for herself.
He said: “It made me feel very proud that she stood up and said, ‘I’m not taking this. She is 19 years of age for goodness sake – bursting her a**e off and attending university by Zoom and learning the most extraordinary moves with Nikita.”
“I think it was a breath of fresh air that level of standing up and saying, ‘We’re not going to tolerate that.'”
The 54-year-old also opened up about his struggles with his weight, saying: “It is a very sensitive issue whether you are a girl or a guy. I am someone who has always struggled with their weight.”
“I have to train, we eat all day. I pick, we graze, we are around food 24/7. If we don’t train I’d be 350-400 pounds – so all credit to her.”
Steve’s comment was met with a lot of backlash, and Ofcom received 840 complaints after his broadcast.
It comes after Tilly said in a statement shared on Instagram: “I try not to read and listen to comments and negativity however recently being called out on a national radio station by a 67-year-old man is a step too far.”
“Steve please feel free voice your opinions however I draw the line at commenting on my appearance. It’s such a shame that someone is trying to make such a positive experience negative.”
“This isn’t the first and definitely won’t be the last comment made about my appearance and I accept that and I’m learning to accept myself.”
“But please remember that words can hurt and at the end of the day I am only 19 and I’m so grateful for all the amazing opportunities I have been able to take part in and I understand that being in the public eye obviously comes with it’s [sic] own repercussions and I’ve been aware of this from a young age.”
“However, I won’t tolerate people that think it’s okay to publicly comment and scrutinise anyone’s weight and appearance,” she concluded the post, which she captioned “#bekind”.
