‘What I Need’ Singer Hayley Kiyoko Gained Weight While Touring and Gaining Stardom
Hayley Kiyoko had quite the year in 2018 — she bagged the Push Artist of the year in MTV Video Music Awards, became a part of Taylor Swift’s LGBTQ-positive music video, and toured arenas with Panic! At the Disco.
The singer then set out on a year-extensive tour around the world. Talking about her touring experience in an interview with LA Times, the singer revealed the heavy touring had a negative effect on her mental health.
Explaining further, the singer admitted it gets lonely when one spends a lot of time on the road. She said it is not as easy as it looks and she empathizes with the artists who tour all the time.
The tour life was not kind to the singer whose health was declining. What's more, she even had insomnia.
Kiyoko revealed the tours made her feel depressed and she was on antidepressants. Although the pills helped her function, they also made her gain 30 pounds in 6 months.
On January 18, 2021, the What I Need singer took to Instagram to confess that she has been a victim of body shaming after the weight gain.
In the caption, the singer let her fans in on how she has been feeling these couple of months.
Kiyoko, who couldn't bear to look into the mirror, was so traumatized because of all the hate that the thought of being on the camera terrified her. She was too hard on herself even though she knew they were out of her control.
Adding a positive note, Kiyoko let her fans know she was finally getting her body to work out for her and is focused on gaining back her confidence.
The singer also confessed that she was going to work on being more empathetic towards herself. She finally realized it was wrong for her to body shame herself and apologized to her fans for not being courageous enough to be vulnerable.