July 24th 2024.
Miquita Oliver, a well-known TV star from the 00s, recently opened up about the pressure she experienced in the media industry to conform to a certain body image. She shared her personal experience of feeling conflicted emotions when her broadcasting career reignited after she lost weight.
Miquita became a household name after co-hosting the popular music show, Popworld, with Simon Amstell. However, she revealed that there was a correlation between her weight loss and the opportunities that came her way, which she found to be quite depressing. In a candid conversation with her friend, Lily Allen, on their podcast Miss Me?, Miquita discussed the existence of thin privilege and the societal pressure to look a certain way.
"I find that a really difficult thing because when I lost loads of weight, my career came back," Miquita shared. "I was also very focused, but [weight loss] was a huge part of it, and I have really confused emotions about that, because I've never been less good at my job, but I lost a lot of opportunities because of the way I was looking."
The 40-year-old also admitted that she probably wouldn't be working if she was "3 stone heavier". Lily, who also experienced public scrutiny for her weight loss in the mid-00s, shared her own experience of being praised for her appearance but feeling miserable inside.
Miquita and Lily both acknowledged the pressure to conform to a certain body type in the media industry, with Miquita stating that it is "undeniable". She shared that in the early days of her career, she would go to extreme measures like not eating and sleeping for days to maintain a certain weight, which ultimately made her unhappy. But she also acknowledged that in the industry, there is a lot of value placed on looks, and it is something that cannot be ignored.
The conversation then shifted to Miquita's career and how it bounced back after she lost a significant amount of weight. She was hired as a presenter on Popworld at the young age of 16 and hosted the show for five years. She then went on to present T4 until 2010 when she made a controversial comment about singer Kesha and was not offered a contract renewal.
Miquita also shared that she was fired from her radio show on BBC Radio One and BBC Radio 1Xtra in the mid-00s for calling her co-host, Fearne Cotton, a "devil woman". In 2011, she filed for bankruptcy due to non-payment of a tax bill and later appeared on a BBC documentary about the truth behind payday loans.
After a brief hiatus, Miquita made a comeback in 2015 as part of the BBC series, 24 Hours in the Past. She has since appeared on various shows, such as Celebrity Gogglebox with her mother Andi Oliver, and The Caribbean with Andi and Miquita.
Despite the ups and downs in her career, Miquita continues to speak out about important issues, and her honesty and openness are appreciated by her fans. She encourages others to embrace their unique beauty and not succumb to societal pressures to conform to a certain body image.
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