Valerie Bertinelli is embracing her “aging” body.
During her guest appearance on Thursday’s episode of the “Drew Barrymore Show,” the “One Day at a Time” actress explained why she posted that now-viral underwear selfie to Instagram.
“I have been coming to terms with my body now, aging, and I saw myself in the light and I went, ‘Oh I’m not mad at that,’” Bertinelli, 64, shared. “Like, all those, you know, planks and sit ups I’ve done, you can see underneath the saggy skin.”
Bertinelli then expressed how “proud” she is of her body by lifting up her red turtleneck to show her stomach, which resulted in the crowd giving her a loud round of applause.
“I have to say it’s 64 years of gravity. It’s science,” she said. “If you focus in on that picture, you’re gonna see the little saggies, and I’m proud of them, because I’m 64. It’s a belly. Why, why, why?”
Bertinelli also addressed the mixed reviews she received from social media users — including the cyberbullies who left comments calling her “too fat,” “too thin,” “out of shape” and “ugly.”
“So, what I’ve learned is, my dad was wrong. You can’t make everybody like you. And I’m OK with that, finally, at this age,” she said as the audience continued to cheer her on.
Barrymore and her co-host, Ross Mathews, then gave the actress a hug while thanking her for talking about such an “important” topic.
“I don’t like that I was part of that manipulation of our brains of, we have to look a certain way,” Bertinelli concluded. “We have to be a certain weight. I’m a size 10. How is that too thin? I’m a size 10. How is that too fat? I’m just me. It’s my body.”
The “Hot in Cleveland” alum made headlines earlier this month when she posted the mirror selfie of herself rocking only a black bra and underwear.
“At some point I will talk about the madness my body has been through this year,” she captioned the photo on Dec. 2.
“But right now every lump bump wrinkle and saggy part of me just feels acceptance and simple appreciation to be standing in front of a mirror in a hotel bathroom in downtown Manhattan ready to color my roots late on a Monday night.”
