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Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Canadian influencer Spencer Barbosa 'never saw girls that looked like' her growing up. Now it's her mission to 'just be real'
At just 22, Spencer Barbosa has amassed millions of followers (more than 11 million, to be exact), built a digital brand rooted in self-love, launched a partnership with skincare & beauty brand Blume and cultivated a loyal community that sees her as more than just a content creator. Known for her unfiltered takes on beauty standards and body image, the Ontario-born influencer has never been afraid to keep it real. "Growing up on social media, all I ever saw was perfect bodies, no hair, hair and makeup done all the time. ... So I made it my mission to just be real, because I never saw girls that looked like me on social media," she tells Yahoo Canada. Her TikTok and Instagram pages are filled with messages of body positivity and self-acceptance, from embracing "bikini bloat" and skipping makeup when she wants, to speaking openly about topics women are often taught to hide. "I became the person online that was the normal girl, that has stretch marks and cellulite and body hair and rolls on her stomach and sometimes wants to put a T-shirt on top of her bikini because she feels bloated," she says. "I just wanted to become that for other girls so that they felt more normal and felt accepted that way." In a candid interview with Yahoo Canada, Barbosa shares the reality of being in the public eye and what she's learned along the way. Despite her confidence, Barbosa admits being an influencer isn't always easy. "The most challenging part is trying to not compare yourself," she says. "Even if you're not comparing yourself to other people, everybody is in your comments comparing you to other influencers: If you're doing enough, if you got invited on this trip, if you're wearing this outfit, if your outfit looks good today, if your hair looks good today. "The most challenging part is that your life is underneath a microscope. Everyone is making up rumours about you ..., 'Oh, her boyfriend hates her,' or, 'Oh, she's not friends with this girl because of that.'"She says it can be difficult to remember what's real and what's fake: "Sometimes, I believe rumours about myself and then I'm like, 'Wait a damn minute, I didn't get a nose job when I was in grade seven.'" Like many other influencers, she also deals with negative comments. In the past, she hasn't shied away from openly responding to negativity she receives online. "It's never nice to hear someone say something bad about you," she says, adding she tries to keep in mind that it's not personal. "It's a 'them' problem ... a projection of their own insecurities. How do I deal with that? I make funny videos posting about the hate comments I get," she says. "I'd rather laugh at it than actually internalize it." Still, she says there are a lot of positives that come with being an influencer: "It is the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my entire life. It is mind-blowing to me, how much of an impact I can make on someone's life, even though I'm so far away from them. ... It blows my mind that what I'm trying to do in this mission that I have is actually happening. I feel so connected to my followers, I really feel like we are best friends." When it comes to mental health, Barbosa keeps the same energy that she promotes online: Honesty, vulnerability and realness. Still, she notes there are time where she can do a better job of taking care of herself. She adds things like self-care days, talking it out with her boyfriend and even sharing her experience on social media can help. "I sometimes struggle because I'm such an oversharer that I want to tell everyone everything all the time, and then I do realize that I'm allowed to have a bad day and don't need to tell everybody that," she says. "And I'm also allowed to have a bad day and tell people I'm having a bad day." She emphasizes that there's power in simply speaking up: "You should never feel ashamed about talking about your mental health. ... If I don't speak up about mental health just because nobody else does it, then no one will ever speak up about mental health. ... It honestly sometimes feels really good to be vulnerable, because I find more confidence in myself — I'm proud of myself, that I could open up that much." Barbosa says the biggest lesson she's learned in her 20s so far is to stop trying to please everyone. Instead, she's adopted the "let them" theory, as popularized by Mel Robbins of The Mel Robbins Podcast. "If somebody wants to say that I'm the worst influencer in the world and I'm the ugliest person to ever exist on this entire planet, let them, that is their opinion of me," Barbosa notes. "I will let them think whatever they want, and it's not my job to prove them wrong. "If they want to leave hate comments, I will let them, because that's on them, and that is their own projection of themselves." And when the criticism gets loud? She leans on advice she keeps close to heart: "Don't take criticism from people you wouldn't take advice from. ... It's not your body that needs to change. It's your mind."
Forbes
19 minutes ago
- Forbes
Laila Ali Names Her Price To Consider Fighting Claressa Shields
Laila Ali-Claressa Shields If fight fans and boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh want to see Laila Ali and Claressa Shields in a ring, it's going to cost them a pretty penny. Ali was a part of Netflix's streaming crew for Friday night's historic, all women's boxing event headlined by Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano's third fight. Ali did a fantastic job with her analysis and her presence was great considering the role she played as a pioneer of women's boxing. While Ali spoke about Taylor-Serrano and the other fights on the card, you knew boxing media wouldn't let her escape without bringing up the possibilities of a fight between her and Shields. According to Ali who spoke to reporters from FightHype, it would take $15-$20 million dollars to get her to consider returning to the ring. Here's a look at the interview. A fight between Ali and Shields would do huge numbers. The two women are arguably the most popular women ever in the sport, and the real-life beef would only make this a stronger draw. Alalshikh is probably the only person on the planet with the means and potential interest to fund such an event. NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 16: Claressa Shields attends the 2024 Women's Sports Foundation's ... More Annual Salute To Women In Sports at Cipriani Wall Street on October 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo byfor WSF) Shields has notoriously beefed with most of the big names in women's boxing, including Serrano. And as I wrote earlier this year, it's been good for the sport. According to Yahoo! Sports' Shanelle Genai, who chronicled the beef between the two icons, the Shields-Ali tension stems from a mentor-turned-rival dynamic that soured as the two stars grew apart. Shields has openly voiced her frustrations about how Ali has downplayed her accomplishments, while Ali has suggested that Shields needs to 'humble herself.' Those words stung hard enough that Shields once called Ali 'the most hated' woman in boxing. Ali is 47 and Shields is 30. Considering the massive age gap and the fact that Ali hasn't competed in 18 years, I'd still call this an unlikely occurrence. However, the kind of money Ali mentioned changes things. Women's boxing is on a historic rise—and no one commands headlines like these two. Just the idea of a super-fight between generations has already stirred the pot. And with Netflix, Alalshikh, and other financial power players proving they'll invest in spectacle, the money might not be as far-fetched as it once seemed. We'll see what Shields has to say in response to Ali's asking price, or if it's something she ignores while preparing for her next fight on July 26 against Lani Daniels. In case you missed it, here is a look at all of the results from Netflix's huge all-women's boxing event. Full Taylor-Serrano 3 Card Results
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How latest block of Trump's birthright citizenship order tests legal landscape after Supreme Court ruling
A federal judge's decision to temporarily prevent the Trump administration from stripping birthright citizenship for some babies born in the U.S. is an early test of the legal landscape, after the Supreme Court greatly restricted the ability of judges to issue nationwide blocks of presidential policies. On Thursday morning, in New Hampshire, U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante granted class action status to a lawsuit that seeks to protect babies who would be denied birthright citizenship, and granted a temporary block of President Donald Trump's order from going into effect throughout the country. The decision brought hope to pregnant women and groups who were dealt a blow two weeks ago when the Supreme Court largely restricted the ability of federal judges to use one of the strongest tools at their disposal — the use of nationwide injunctions to prevent federal policies from going into effect. The Supreme Court decision would have allowed Trump's executive order to go into effect on July 27 in parts of the U.S. In the aftermath, immigrants and their attorneys pivoted to seeking class action status for immigrant babies and parents in hopes of finding another way to stop the president. 'It was clear that the Supreme Court decision had closed one very important door for challenging policies, but it also in the process opened other doors,' Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow with the Migration Policy Institute, told NBC News. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether Trump's executive order is unconstitutional and multiple lawsuits challenging it remain ongoing. But its decision on June 27 left open an important avenue for plaintiffs to try to stop federal government policies nationwide through the use of class action lawsuits. 'This case is an early test for how litigants will adapt to the legal landscape after the Supreme Court's death blow to national injunctions,' Chishti said. 'It normally takes months, if not years, for an altered landscape to be observed. But since this is such an important constitutional issue, we are getting a chance to revisit the landscape within two weeks.' Under Trump's plan, birthright citizenship would be limited to those who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. The order also denies citizenship to children whose mothers are temporarily in the United States, including those visiting under the Visa Waiver Program or as tourists, or who are students and whose fathers are not citizens or lawful permanent residents. In the written order issued Thursday, Laplante wrote that the court certified class action status to the following group in issuing the nationwide block of Trump's order: 'All current and future persons who are born on or after February 20, 2025, where (1) that person's mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person's father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person's birth, or (2) that person's mother's presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person's father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person's birth.' Laplante, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, had previously denied issuing a nationwide injunction in a similar case earlier this year. Instead, he had issued a narrower order where he only blocked the policy from being enforced on members of groups that would be affected by Trump's order. But his order on Thursday effectively blocked Trump's executive order from being enforced nationwide, at least temporarily. 'This was a ruling that certified a preliminary class of folks across the nation from a judge who was skeptical of nationwide injunctions, and so I think it shows that the class action mechanism is a viable one, that courts are willing to entertain,' said Haiyun Damon-Feng, an immigration and constitutional law professor at Cardozo School of Law. Cody Wofsy, the American Civil Liberties Union's lead attorney in the case, said after Thursday's court hearing that Laplante's order was 'going to protect every single child around the country from this lawless, unconstitutional and cruel executive order.' White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement to NBC News that the decision was 'an obvious and unlawful attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court's clear order against universal relief.' 'This judge's decision disregards the rule of law by abusing class action certification procedures. The Trump Administration will be fighting vigorously against the attempts of these rogue district court judges to impede the policies President Trump was elected to implement,' Fields said in the statement. The Trump administration has seven days to appeal Laplante's temporary block to a higher court, and the issue could find itself back at the Supreme Court to determine if the judge's order complies with last month's ruling. 'It's not the end right of the birthright question. We are probably going to see more fights take place over procedure, over the question of class certification, as well as the question of birthright citizenship on the merits,' Damon-Feng said. This article was originally published on
