Lauren Jauregui used the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet to push back against one of pop's most persistent beauty ideals: extreme thinness. Speaking at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, 27 September, the Fifth Harmony singer said she feels 'punk as f--k' for not looking like a 'twig' as she opened up about weight changes and PCOS.
'I am a woman. I fluctuate like all women do,' the 30-year-old said. Her comments arrive in an industry where women at opposite ends of the weight conversation, from Ariana Grande to Bebe Rexha, have repeatedly faced scrutiny over their bodies.
Lauren Jauregui Says Not Being a 'Twig' Feels Punk
Jauregui did not present her body as something that needed fixing. 'Honestly, I feel like it's punk as f--k to not be a twig right now, and that's kind of where I'm at,' she said. She added, 'I think I'm beautiful,' while describing a confidence that no longer depends on online approval.
The singer also disclosed that she has PCOS, mentioning the condition while discussing fluctuations in her weight. The condition was renamed polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS, on 12 May following a global consensus process involving patient and professional organisations. PMOS affects about one in eight women and can involve hormonal, metabolic and reproductive symptoms, including changes in weight.
For Jauregui, who entered the public eye as a teenager with Fifth Harmony before launching a solo career, the comments push against the appearance-based scrutiny that often follows female performers alongside their music. She said she still reads supportive messages from fans but has become less affected by hateful comments. The point was not that she had stopped being visible, but that visibility no longer required shrinking herself.
Grande and Rexha Show How Narrow the Standard Gets
Jauregui's 'twig' comment also lands in a pop landscape where women can be scrutinised for being considered either too thin or not thin enough. Ariana Grande has repeatedly asked people to stop analysing her appearance, saying in 2023 that 'there are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful' after comparisons between photographs of her body spread online. The Wicked star warned that outsiders cannot determine someone's health from their size and urged people to be less comfortable commenting on bodies.
Ariana Grande raises concern with her noticeably thin appearance in new Petal music video pic.twitter.com/3EYaXwF1FW
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) August 2, 2026
Bebe Rexha has faced the pressure from another direction. At the 2026 VMAs, the 'Meant to Be' singer revisited the 2019 Grammys controversy in which she said several designers refused to dress her because she wore a US size 6 to 8. Rexha argued at the time that refusing women above runway sizing sent a wider message about which bodies fashion considered worthy of dressing.
The experiences expose just how narrow the acceptable range can become for women in pop. Grande has faced commentary over appearing thinner, Rexha said designers rejected her for not being thin enough and Jauregui is now openly refusing the suggestion that she should become a 'twig'.
Jauregui Refuses to Make Thinness the Price of Pop Stardom
Lauren Jauregui attends the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. pic.twitter.com/5V98gK6ICm
— 21 (@21metgala) September 27, 2026
Jauregui's response is not to claim that body scrutiny has disappeared, but to remove it from the centre of how she measures herself. 'Like I'm still doing my thing, and I'm still a star,' she said, turning a red-carpet conversation about appearance into a statement about who gets to decide what a pop star should look like.
That gives her 'punk' comment its sharper edge. In an industry where women's bodies can become a public conversation about whether they gain weight, lose it or simply change, Jauregui is refusing to treat thinness as the price of remaining visible.
