The TV presenter was targeted by cruel trolling about her appearance during a discussion about how women are treated in the media.

What did you miss?

Ashley James has spoken out about having been body shamed by This Morning viewers, sharing her experiences with other TV stars including Debbie McGee and Josie Gibson.

When the TV presenter joined *This Morning* in April for her regular headlines segment, she expected to discuss Hannah Waddingham’s response to being objectified by photographers on the red carpet.

However, James received cruel comments about her cleavage while wearing a suit on *This Morning*—ironically, as she discussed how women are objectified by the media.

James spoke out about her experiences in Tuesday’s This Morning, where she also caught up with other female TV stars to find out how they felt about their appearance being up for discussion.

The mum-of-two looked back on a lilac suit she had worn for the discussion in April, recalling how some people had accused her of showing an inappropriate amount of cleavage.

What, how, and why?

She said: “I was so excited to wear that suit. As a breastfeeding mum, I was so pleased to find a bra that fit. It didn’t even occur to me that it would be deemed inappropriate. Ironically, we were discussing the objectification of women in the media. Little did I know my suit would prompt hundreds of online comments, some calling it inappropriate for daytime TV.”

She spoke to other stars about their feelings on the subject, including former Strictly star Debbie McGee who spoke about how public opinion had changed over the course of her career. TV veteran Debbie McGee had no qualms telling James her true feelings on the subject.

She told her: “I do believe you shouldn’t offend your audience.” When James asked why cleavage would be deemed offensive, McGee explained: “When I was young, you wouldn’t be considered polite if you showed cleavage, you would be considered a tart, but I think that has changed.”

Talking about her time as late husband Paul Daniels’ magician’s assistant, she added: “To a degree I had body image issues because I just wanted to look the best I could.”

James also spoke to This Morning presenter Josie Gibson, who said of being trolled about her appearance: “It used to really affect me and I used to think it was part of the job, but it should never be part of the job.”

Host Rochelle Humes had heaps of praise for the former Made In Chelsea star. She said: “I love Ashley, she’s so smart, so gorgeous and she says things when we’re doing the news that I’m like, yes, that was exactly what I wanted to say but I didn’t know how to articulate it, and we’re focussing on her suit.”

She added: “By the way it was a lovely suit, I really liked the suit, but I just don’t understand – we’re in 2024 and we look at this (pointing to cleavage) before we listen to what’s coming out of here (pointing to mouth) which is a really poignant piece of information.”

Meanwhile, James posted on Instagram to thank This Morning for featuring the issue, adding: “I should probably say thanks to all the trolls because without your negativity I wouldn’t have been given this opportunity! When you spread hate and negativity people will always rise above you.”

Ashley James tackles body shaming

Last year, James told Women’s Health how body shaming had been a lifelong issue for her. She said: “I’ve always had such big boobs, since I was 13. I wore a 30GG. So with that has come lots of unwanted attention and hyper s*xualisation.”

Recalling how she had been targeted by older boys at school with inappropriate comments, she added: “I think as a consequence of that, the teachers started to I guess shame me or I guess they were trying to protect me. But they did it in a way that taught me that my body was something to be ashamed of.

“So when I’d get ready to go to the disco, or whatever it might be, they’d say no, actually, you can’t wear that you have to cover up, put something on more appropriate. You don’t want to distract the boys, you don’t want to distract the teachers.”

This Morning airs on ITV1 at 10am on weekdays.