Once upon a time, the red carpet was synonymous with high fashion. However, the spotlight now often shifts from the exquisite gowns to the alarmingly thin figures of the stars wearing them. This shift in focus, from chic attire to jutting collarbones and hollowed cheeks, raises eyebrows and concerns.

If adhering to Hollywood’s current beauty ideals means accepting such extremes, it’s a trend many might prefer to avoid. This isn’t just a superficial worry; it poses genuine health risks.

Consider the likes of Emma Stone, whose slender figure and concave abdomen have become talking points, or Robin Wright, whose arms appear almost skeletal. These celebrities, with their gaunt appearances, seem to be chasing a dangerously thin ideal, echoing Kate Moss’s controversial saying: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.”

Demi Moore’s recent appearance at the SAG-AFTRA Actor Awards is a case in point. Despite a career resurgence in her sixties, Moore’s frail presence at the event suggests an unsettling adherence to extreme beauty standards.

On the red carpet, Moore donned a dramatic Schiaparelli couture outfit that highlighted her protruding collarbones and sinewy arms. Paired with her seemingly ageless, ‘forever 35’ appearance, it’s no wonder her look sparked online speculation about the use of weight-loss aids like Ozempic.

We were treated to dramatic Schiaparelli couture with protruding collarbones and sinewy arms on the red carpet, topped off with the ‘forever 35’ frozen face – all of which, not surprisingly, has given rise to Ozempic rumors online.

Meanwhile, clad in a leather jacket and trousers at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week, the 63-year-old actress was sporting a new hairdo and a very wide thigh gap in another scrawny display. For those who remember her 90s heyday, it all feels a strained and try-hard come down from when the always body-conscious star was strong and athletic.

Remember all the fangirling that greeted her trumped-up comeback starring in the 2024 body horror flick, The Substance, in which she starred as an aging actress who takes a magic youth elixir after being replaced by a younger model? That’s ringing as hollow as her cheeks right now.

Demi Moore’s frail turn at the Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA this week (more of a mouthful than any of these ladies have had for a while) 

From Emma Stone’s concave abs to Robin Wright’s veiny arms, the current crop of haunted, gaunt-faced celebrities is clearly starving for more than attention

Moore’s performance may have been lauded by some as a progressive response to the treatment of aging actresses in Hollywood, but that assessment sits uneasily with the rumored $500,000 cosmetic overhaul and her latest appearances, which seem the antithesis of self-acceptance and body positivity.

And as the mother of three daughters – the youngest of whom, Tallulah, has been open about her struggles with anorexia – this isn’t just about the example she’s setting to generations of fans. It’s much, much closer to home.

On Wednesday it was Oprah’s turn to hobble into sight as she arrived at Chloe’s Paris Fashion Week show.

The woman who used to proudly proclaim ‘I just love bread,’ looked as if she could do with a dose of carbs. The 72-year-old shadow of her former self clung to Gayle King or any available railing as she navigated the French capital’s streets looking for all the world like she might slip between the cobble-stones. 

These barely-there Hollywood stick figures are sending out a message that ’90s heroin chic is back in vogue – and, as we learned back then, it is as sick as it is insidious.

With a new drug in the needle, Ozempic, and yes-men surgeons on speed dial, the pursuit of the taut teen body is omnipresent.

Sharon and Kelly Osbourne were a case in point at last month’s Brit Awards in London. The mom and daughter duo have long peddled an Adams Family schtick but the ludicrous lips and two-for-the-price-of-one weight loss on show was more Victorian freakshow than modern family.

It even distracted from the pair’s heartfelt tribute to patriarch Ozzy, who died in December at the age of 76 and was being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The resultant online focus was firmly on their ‘frail’ appearance rather than the Black Sabbath frontman’s musical contribution.

Last week, Kelly shared to her Instagram a screenshot of one comment that called her ‘tooooo thin and fragile.’

The TV personality added the following response: ‘Public grief is not public property.’

Yes, but the harsh reality is you have chosen to be on the stage in the full glare of the spotlight.

Inevitably, celebrity indignation always follows public judgment but, in truth, scrutiny is valid and necessary, especially when stick-thin, unhealthy images are being peddled to impressionable fan bases.

Moore and the Osbournes are far from the only offenders. Emma Stone also looked like she swerved the canapes at the recent BAFTA awards, an appearance that saw her branded ‘scarily thin’ and ‘fragile’ by critics.

La Toya Jackson, too, ‘scared’ fans recently when she attended her niece-in-law, Toyia’s funeral looking, ‘unhealthily thin.’ 

On Wednesday it was Oprah’s turn to hobble into sight as she arrived at Chloe’s Paris Fashion Week show

Sharon and Kelly Osbourne’s mutual weight loss. on display at last month’s Brit Awards in London. was more Victorian freakshow than modern family

La Toya Jackson ‘scared’ fans recently when she attended her niece-in-law, Toyia’s, funeral looking ‘unhealthily thin’

So, is the uber-thin trend rooted in the juggernaut of Wicked and its stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo?

As two of the world’s most famous women looking fragile and tiny as dolls on their never-ending press tour across the globe unwittingly rammed home the point that success and recognition are inversely proportional to size and shape; the bigger the former, the smaller the latter must be.

While normally confined to a faction of the modeling world rather than established film stars filtering this message through the ranks is not only dangerous, but irresponsible.

In the ego-fueled echo chamber of celebrity where no one says NO to anything other than food, it becomes easy for stars to convince themselves that they’re setting the beauty standards to which the rest of us should aspire.

But frankly it’s time someone told them, it’s all wearing just a little bit thin.