Lifestyle

DON'T FEED THE TROLLS

NFL Cheerleader, 34, Reacts to Brutal Body-Shaming Comments

The nine-time Sports Illustrated swimsuit model did not mince words when discussing her “loser” critics.

Tamilore OshikanluContributor

PublishedJul 27, 2026, 2:56 PM EDT

UpdatedJul 27, 2026, 2:56 PM EDT

Updated Jul 27, 2026, 2:56 PM EDTPublished Jul 27, 2026, 2:56 PM EDT

Comments

Sports Illustrated model Camille Kostek has a message for critics dissecting her body on social media: Go outside and touch grass.

The 34-year-old former NFL cheerleader fired back Friday after opening her phone to another round of unsolicited commentary about her appearance.

“Me wondering when I’m going to stop opening my phone to losers having conversations about my body,” Kostek, who’s been in a relationship with 37-year-old NFL star Rob Gronkowski since 2013, wrote over a TikTok video showing her rolling her eyes and burying her head in her hands.

“Go outside and get some sun!” she shot back in the caption.

The post appeared to respond to renewed scrutiny of Kostek’s figure after she walked the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit runway during Miami Swim Week earlier this year.

BIKINI BODIES

Olympian Responds to Criticism Over ‘Unflattering’ Swimsuit

Roosa Rahkonen

One commenter asked beneath a video of Kostek, who cheered for the New England Patriots from 2013 to 2015, posing on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit red carpet ahead of the runway show, “What happened to Camille? Blew up?”

Kostek, however, has spent years speaking openly about the pressure she faced to shrink her body while trying to break into the modeling industry.

The nine-time Sports Illustrated Swimsuit star won the magazine’s Model Search competition in 2018 before landing the coveted solo cover shot on Kangaroo Island in South Australia during her rookie year in 2019.

Despite her success, Kostek revealed during a May appearance on People’s WAG World series that she nearly abandoned modeling after repeatedly being told that her hips, thighs, and arms were too large.

“I almost gave up on pursuing a modeling career because at 27 years old, when I got the cover, I was getting a lot of no’s, or, ‘You need to lose weight,’ or, ‘You need to lose inches off of your hips, your thighs, your bicep,’” she said.

Play Video

Kostek recalled wondering, “But why isn’t this enough?”

Sports Illustrated, she said, gave her a different answer. “And SI to me was that you are enough,” Kostek said.

The model explained that she grew up without a scale in her home and first began embracing her hips and curves as a teenager after seeing women with similar bodies in Sports Illustrated.

When her own insecurities surfaced during photo shoots, Kostek reminded herself that she could become the representation she once needed.

“I’m gonna be that girl that I looked up to myself for someone else,” she said.

Kostek added that she never anticipated the “ripple effect” created by appearing on the cover without “over preparing, over training, and under eating.”

Her latest TikTok drew support from viewers who said she had fulfilled that goal.

“You are the type of woman that I want my daughter looking up to. Smart, driven, kind, beautiful,” one commenter wrote.

Another comment, liked by Kostek, said she planned to name her future daughter Camille because Kostek “radiate[s] light” and has “always been an epitome of beauty.”

Fellow Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Remi Bader, who has faced intense criticism over her own body following the magazine’s 2026 runway show, added, “Tell em, sis.”

Kostek previously confronted body shamers in 2019 after posting a vacation photo of herself wearing a high-waisted neon bikini in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with Gronkowski.

She later shared screenshots of comments calling her “gross,” a “wide load,” and claiming she needed “the gym and a good doctor.”

Kostek also posted a video she had filmed while crying after reading the abusive messages.

“I was having a weak moment and allowed some of the comments to get to me that night,” she said at the time.

The model said she was ultimately able to recognize that the criticism represented only “a small moment in time” created by people she did not “give a f--- about.”

Tamilore OshikanluContributor

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast.