Dancer Amanda LaCount Bravely Shares Her Struggle with Bullying

“I never let hate comments or haters affect me, but I can’t help but cry when I read this”

Ever since we first stumbled upon Amanda LaCount’s Instagram profile, we’ve been obsessed with her incredible dance skills, empowering posts, and the inner and outer beauty that radiates from her feed. 

But last night, we saw something that broke our hearts. A nasty bully left two horrible comments on one of her recent posts, attacking and demeaning Amanda. While a lot of people say, “Ignore the haters,” sometimes that’s just not enough. Words hurt, and Amanda was brave enough to talk about how these comments affected her. She wrote:

I am a very confident and secure person, but I haven’t always been like this. Until I was 12 I was so insecure. I would cry when I looked in the mirror and didn’t see a size 0 beautiful girl standing in front of me. But I learned that there is no definition of beautiful. Beauty standards change, as well as the trends, so why change yourself for things that are not permanent. I never let hate comments or haters affect me, but I can’t help but cry when I read this. I am a 16 year old girl trying to make it in this industry and the fact that an adult has to call me things like “a whore” makes me feel like I did something wrong. I wish people would accept me for me and not tell me what I should be. And it pisses me off when people say that because I am a thick girl I am automatically unhealthy. I have tried dieting and working out at the gym for hours every day, but nothing changed. It is the way my body is made. Also I dance at least 4-5 hours a day so don’t automatically assume I am a lazy slob. I have thought about if I will ever find someone who loves me since I knew what love was. I think that nobody could ever love someone that looks like me, but hopefully I am wrong. If you read this . . . thank you and I am sorry for being a downer, but this is not ok and it needs to be addressed. 

This is the furthest thing from a downer! It’s so important to talk about the fact that words have an impact, and that beauty has nothing to do with a number on a clothing tag. Next month, Amanda will launch her first-ever dance tour, #BreakingTheStereotype, where she’ll spread the same positivity and passion we get to see every day on her Instagram page! See if she’s coming to your city below:

We can’t wait to see her perform live!