Why there is a backlash to Adele's weight loss being celebrated

"Adele was always beautiful. Weight loss does not make her beautiful. Her smile does. Her confidence does. Her badass work ethic does. That is all."

Adele's recent weight loss isn't something to be celebrated. Source: Getty Images, Twitter

Social media users are hitting back at those who are celebrating Adele's recent weight loss, saying it highlights an underlying fatphobia and ignores the fact that weight loss is not necessarily a sign of health.

It all began over the weekend when photos surfaced online of Adele attending singer Drake's birthday party, appearing noticeably slimmer than earlier this year.

While some were quick to congratulate the star for her new look, others rejected the "inherently positive" reaction to weight loss, suggesting that our knee-jerk response (to compliment) is the symptom of a larger problem, and pointing out that Adele is presently going through a divorce with husband Simon Konecki.

"As someone who has also involuntarily lost weight due to the traumatic stress of a #divorce chances are your celebration of her 'new body' is problematic and rooted in fatphobia," writer Jagger Blaec tweeted.

Writer Adwoa Darko, who penned an op-ed for the Independent on the subject, tweeted: "More often than not, weight loss is celebrated as an inherently positive thing despite the fact that it could be a symptom of a serious health issue."

She added: "People may experience disordered eating/WL as a result of a mental/physical condition."

Meanwhile, actress and activist Jameela Jamil weighed in, writing: "The ONLY discussion we should be having around Adele’s weight... is WHY is the media so obsessed with the weight of one of the most successful artists of all time?"

In September it was reported that Adele was planning to release an 'upbeat' song about her ongoing divorce from Konecki, with whom she has one child.