Meghan Markle’s best friend Jessica Mulroney shut down Instagram users who shamed her for posting a swimsuit photo

Meghan Markle’s best friend Jessica Mulroney is hitting back at critics who tried to shame her for posting a photo of herself in a bathing suit on Instagram.

On Monday, the Canadian celebrity stylist posted a picture that showed her posing on a balcony in a red one-piece suit at the Caribbean Club hotel in the Cayman Islands.

“Brings ten bathing suits … only gets to wear one on a balcony,” she wrote in the caption. “All work no play in Cayman. I WILL BE BACK to play in the water with the kiddies.”

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While the photo obtained tens of thousands of likes, it also received a slew of comments from followers who didn’t believe the swimsuit photo was appropriate from a mother of three. Other Instagram users claimed Mulroney was promoting an unrealistic standard of beauty for young women and moms. 

“You look amazing. No question,” one woman wrote. “But how is this helping women (the grand population that you try to hit) feel about themselves if they can simply never achieve the picture of beauty you are selling?”

Another commenter said Mulroney needed to be “more of a role model to young women” and influence them “without them thinking they need to be as beautiful to be successful.”  

Others specifically took aim at Mulroney’s figure, telling her to “eat some real food” or claiming there was “no tone” in her legs.

“Why do people have to post pictures in such an obvious attempt to show off?” another woman wrote. “Yes, we see you.”

But Mulroney, 39, didn’t delete the photo. Instead, she told the critics exactly what she thought about their comments.

Just a few hours after she shared the swimsuit photo, Mulroney posted again on her Instagram. 

“Apparently a picture in a bathing suit is offensive to my career, some followers, the charities I work with and my children,” she wrote. “But guess what … I don’t care. Thank you to my supportive followers who stand up to body shaming. Everyone else, get a clue.”

The photo has since received more than 19,000 likes at the time of writing, and many of Mulroney’s followers have commented on both posts to show their support and praise her self-confidence.

“I’d wear a bathing suit to get the mail if I were you,” wrote former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe.

“I really admire how you don’t make any apologies for wanting to show your body off, it’s rare these days for a woman to openly like herself,” added another user.

The last time Mulroney posted a swimsuit photo of herself on Instagram – during a trip to Las Vegas in August – she was so inundated with comments from trolls that she took the picture down. 

The next day, Mulroney shared the photo again and posted a candid caption about her feelings towards the online criticism.

“I took this photo down after posting about it yesterday,” she wrote. “Too many trolls attacking. But I realized today, I don’t care.”

“I work hard on every aspect of my life and I’m proud of my body,” she added. “I’m proud of the work I do. I’m proud that I’m driven. I’m proud of it all. And if we can’t be proud of ourselves, then what’s the point. No more apologies.”