Chloë Grace Moretz was 'really affected' by viral Family Guy meme: 'Everyone was making fun of my body'

Chloë Grace Moretz is reminding the world that while memes can be fun, they can also be hurtful.

In an interview with Hunger Magazine, the Kick-Ass star said a viral meme that compared her body to a Family Guy character contributed to her struggle with anxiety and body dysmorphia.

"There was one meme that really affected me, of me walking into a hotel with a pizza box in my hand," she told the outlet. "And this photo got manipulated into a character from Family Guy with the long legs and the short torso, and it was one of the most widespread memes at the time."

The actress, who has spoken out against body shaming in the past, revealed that the meme made her feel powerless about discussions surrounding her own body, especially when everyone else appeared to be in on the joke.

"Everyone was making fun of my body and I brought it up with someone and they were like, 'Oh, shut the f--- up, it's funny,'" she recalled. "And I just remember sitting there and thinking, my body is being used as a joke and it's something that I can't change about who I am, and it is being posted all over Instagram."

It continues to have a lasting impact on Moretz too. She added, "To this day, when I see that meme, it's something very hard for me to overcome."

After the meme made waves on social media, Moretz said that she felt "kind of sad" and largely turned away from the public eye. "It took a layer of something that I used to enjoy, which was getting dressed up and going to a carpet and taking a photo, and made me super self-conscious," she shared. "And I think that body dysmorphia — which we all deal with in this world — is extrapolated by the issues of social media. It's a headf---."

While she has continued to star in multiple film and television projects — including 2016's Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, 2018's The Miseducation of Cameron Post, and 2021's Tom & Jerry — Moretz noted that she "basically became a recluse" outside of her onscreen appearances.

"It was great because I got away from the photographers and I was able to be myself, and to have so many experiences that people didn't photograph," she said, "but at the same time it made me severely anxious when I was photographed. My heart rate would rise and I would hyperventilate."

She added that the global coronavirus pandemic — and wearing face masks in public — helped her avoid unnecessary attention too. "To say that these past two years have been transformative is an understatement, to say the least," Moretz said. "I'm a very different girl than I was. I feel like a woman now."

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