Alyssa Milano, the Charmed actress who helped popularize the MeToo hashtag in Hollywood, has undergone breast implant removal surgery after what she described as years of internalized shame and distorted self-worth.
The 52-year-old posted a photo from her hospital bed on Wednesday (September 24), sharing the news in a deeply personal Instagram post.
“Today, I’m releasing those false narratives,” she wrote. “The parts of me that were never actually parts of me.”
Actress Alyssa Milano has decided to remove her breast implants, viewing them as a symbol of the objectification she endured
Image credits: milano_alyssa
Warning: this article contains descriptions of explicit harassment
Milano explained that the decision was motivated primarily by seeing her 11-year-old daughter, Elizabella, grow.
“I’m letting go of the body that was s*xualized, that was ab*sed, that I believed was necessary for me to be attractive; to be loved; to be successful; to be happy,” she said.
“And in doing so, I hope I am releasing my daughter Bella from ever feeling those same unhealthy demands.”
Image credits: milano_alyssa
The mother of two shares Elizabella and her 14-year-old son Milo with husband David Bugliari, a prominent Hollywood talent agent whose firm represents stars like Bradley Cooper and Danny McBride.
Though she didn’t specify when she first got the implants, the actress admitted they once symbolized everything she believed she had to be to succeed in the industry that had also hurt her.
Milano popularized the MeToo hashtag in 2017 by inviting women in Hollywood to share her experiences
Image credits: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
Milano’s journey with body image is inseparable from her experiences in Hollywood, many of which, she said, were traumatic.
Image credits: milano_alyssa
For instance, in 2019, she revealed that when she was in her 20s, an actor nearly two decades older than her touched her inappropriately while filming a love scene.
“He put his hand under my underwear and tried to force his fingers inside me,” she wrote. “In front of the crew while we were blocking a scene.” She never named the man.
Image credits: milano_alyssa
Years earlier, in 1998, she filed a lawsuit against adult websites for using explicit images of her without permission. Some came from a movie she appeared in, while others were digitally altered to paste her face onto other women’s bodies.
The actress said the decision to get breast augmentation was done due to industry pressure, as well as a desire to be loved
Image credits: milano_alyssa
For Milano, the implants were just another chapter in a long history of being reduced to her appearance.
From her teen years on Who’s the Boss? to her 90s roles such as Poison Ivy II, Milano felt her body was often treated as a product before it was seen as her own.
She felt pressure to be desirable first, human second.
Image credits: The WB
By the time she got breast implants, a decision she now frames as rooted in insecurity and pressure, they were more than just cosmetic. They were, in her own words, a misguided attempt to be appreciated.
“Today I am loved, I am feminine, I am attractive, and I am successful. None of that is because of my implants,” she said.
“I will still be all of those things when I wake up and they are gone.”
Celebrities who also had breast reduction surgeries applauded Milano for her courage
Image credits: The WB
While the post was personal, Milano made it clear that her choice isn’t a condemnation of others who’ve made different decisions.
“Many women will find freedom and beauty in choosing their implants,” she wrote. “What is a false narrative for me may be the exact right thing for them, and I am so happy that we can all find our femininity and peace on our own terms.”
She credited RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage, who had her own implants removed in 2019 after developing Hashimoto’s disease, as a source of courage.
Image credits: Steve Granitz/Getty Images
“I’m tremendously inspired by women like Michelle Visage who have been open and public about their relationships with their breast implants, making it easier for me and countless others to find our own way,” Milano stated.
Visage herself responded in the comments: “I’M THRILLED FOR YOU! The heal is real baby! See you on the lighter side.”
Baywatch actress Nicole Eggert, who underwent a double mastectomy to treat breast cancer, also voiced her support by writing, “Yes to all of this.”
“Love yourself.” Milano’s fans congratulated her for her decision and openness
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