Be Your Own Biggest Cheerleader: Katrina Kaif On Postpartum Trolling

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Less than a year after becoming a mother, Katrina Kaif has answered the online criticism of her postpartum body with a message about self-worth.

The actor spoke in London, where she arrived to celebrate one year of Kay Beauty in the UK, in partnership with Space NK. Her remarks come weeks after a wave of body-shaming comments that followed a public appearance in Mumbai.

Photo Credit: Instagram: @kaybykatrina @katrinakaif

What Katrina Kaif Said In London

Katrina's central point was about attention: whose opinions we let in, and what they cost us.

"We really need to be careful of letting the narrative on social media affect our self-worth and our value," she said. With so many opinions online, she explained, trying to cater to all of them "hampers your ability to make choices for yourself."

She spoke from her own experience. Had she let every critique dictate her actions, she said, "I would have been paralysed with fear and unable to move ahead in my life or in any sphere of life."

Her answer was not to ignore feedback but to hold it lightly. "There are times where the world is going to celebrate you and other times you have to really be your own biggest cheerleader," she said.

She also described self-acceptance as something that moves. "You have to accept yourself and be true to who you are in this moment, and that's going to change from day to day," she said, adding that it shifts across phases of life. Some days you feel you are "acing everything", she said, and others you feel you cannot get anything right. On some days you feel like the best version of yourself, and on others you are on the way there.

Her closing advice was simple: "It's good to wear it all lightly and not take yourself too seriously, and just have fun with it."

How The Postpartum Trolling Began

Katrina and her husband, actor Vicky Kaushal, were photographed by paparazzi at a Ganesh Chaturthi celebration in Mumbai. Some social media users compared the new photographs with older images and questioned changes in her appearance, while another referred to alleged cosmetic procedures. Before-and-after collages also circulated on Instagram, placing her earlier photos beside images from the event. Some comments went as far as declaring that she was finished.

The timing made the criticism harder to defend. Katrina gave birth to her son, Vihaan, on 7 November 2025, so he has not yet turned one.

Support From Fans And Colleagues

Many people pushed back. One fan argued that a new mother's body should not be judged and that women deserve time to recover after childbirth. Actor Ali Fazal called out the trolls for body-shaming his Mere Brother Ki Dulhan co-star. Salman Khan, without naming her, spoke against judging women's bodies after pregnancy, and Parineeti Chopra was among others who spoke against body shaming.

Before her London remarks, reports noted that Katrina had not publicly responded to the individual trolls.

A Mother And A Founder

The criticism arrived as her business was thriving. Katrina launched Kay Beauty in 2019, and the brand has recorded a 46 per cent sales increase and is expanding into global markets. It entered the UK through Space NK in 2025, becoming the first Indian-founded beauty brand to launch with the retailer.

Her London message therefore reads as both personal and professional. She is talking about self-worth as a woman, a new mother and a founder who has built a brand on how people feel about themselves.