"I was insulted as a wh*re already at 11 years old": Jelena Dokic opens up on fat shaming in lengthy Instagram post

WTA
Sunday, 23 April 2023 at 10:30
Dokic
Former pro Jelena Dokic opened up about being a target of insults at a very young age after embracing to share her life story in recent years.
Dokic was a very good player during her time but her life behind the scenes was even more dramatic. She had a really bad relationship with her father who abused her physically and mentally for many years. It caused her anxiety, depression, suicide ideation and many other things which she now openly talks about believing it to be important.
Life recently has been a bit better with a best-selling book as well as a job in tennis however she is still the victim of abuse. Nowadays it's mostly related to her appearance because she gained a lot of weight in recent years which made her a target of fat shaming. In a lengthy Instagram post, Dokic opened up about that:
"This is a very raw and honest conversation. I often hear about my body and my size, people wonder what happened to me and that they can't even recognize me. Well let me tell you what happened. I survived twice as a refugee, was bullied, lived in a house full of domestic violence until I was 15 and was beaten unconscious. I was physically and emotionally abused and was hit for the first time when I was 6 years old.
I was insulted as a wh*re already at 11 years old. I was forced to run away from home and came close to committing suicide. Despite this I think I have done quite well as a tennis player, as a writer, as a commentator and above all as a survivor. So now I see these two images and I'll tell you the difference. On the left is me in size 4, playing scared shitless, beaten and kicked all night. Here to the right I'm a size 16, survived it all and here I am healing from my trauma and thriving. I think the face says it all, I always prefer size 16 if that means being happy."

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