Lifestyle Health Celebrity Health Tess Holliday Responds to 'Obsessed' Critics Who Say She Is Lying About Her Size and Is 'Bigger' Than She Claims The model and body activist said she is indeed a size 24 and “having so much fun” proving people wrong By Vanessa Etienne Vanessa Etienne Vanessa Etienne is an Emerging Content Writer-Reporter for PEOPLE. People Editorial Guidelines Published on August 13, 2024 01:15PM EDT Comments Close Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images Tess Holliday is clapping back at social media critics who claim she’s lying about her size. On August 10, the 39-year-old model and body activist posted a TikTok video wearing a bathing suit, where she shared that she’s a size 24. However, the post received numerous negative comments from people assuming there’s “no way” she’s a 24 and claiming she’s “a lot bigger” than that. The 38-year-old responded with multiple videos shutting down the rude messages and brushing off the hate. “Oh no, I was just exposed,” she said sarcastically. “I’m actually a size 69, get into it.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Tess Holliday Responds to 'Fatphobic' Messages, Says Her Mental Health Is 'Fragile': 'I’m Really Doing My Best' Holliday also confirmed her size in a video, pointing out the tag on her pants that says 3x and then showing a chart that notes 3x is the same as size 24 and 26. “I am having so much fun,” she added, referring to proving her critics wrong. In response to another commenter, Holliday said, “I am so excited that everybody is so obsessed about me ‘lying about my size’ because this video that everybody is commenting on is already almost at a million views. So please keep debating, please keep telling me I’m disgusting.” Although Holliday has never been one to shy away from slamming negative comments left on her social media pages, the model admitted earlier this year that they still impact her mental health. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Tess Holliday Is 'Really Struggling' with Her Body Image: 'It's Been Almost Debilitating' “One thing I’m learning on this extremely fatphobic app is the minute you mess up, you can count on everyone to tell you how fat you are and that you should die. It’s great. I’ve honestly been loving it,” she said sarcastically in an April 15 TikTok video. “Don’t keep it coming because the mental health is a little fragile right now. But sometimes some of us are just doing our best. Sometimes we do make mistakes and we are never gonna be perfect.” “Maybe if we mess up or make a mistake and own it…maybe we could just not say that they’re the most disgusting person on the planet and the fattest thing to ever walk the earth,” she continued. “Some of us are just holding on so strong and we’re trying and that’s not helpful.” The mom of two added in the caption, “I really am doing my best and I love y’all sm.”