Kate Beckinsale has scrubbed the posts from her Instagram account after another wave of comments targeting her weight and appearance. Before clearing the page, the 53-year-old actress shared screenshots of some of the messages she had received and recorded a lengthy response explaining the health and personal struggles she says have affected her.
Beckinsale said people regularly accuse her of being anorexic, using drugs or losing too much weight whenever she posts photographs of herself. In a since-deleted video detailed by Just Jared, she urged people to consider what may be happening in someone’s life before commenting on their body.
She also discussed mast cell activation syndrome, saying she was diagnosed 16 years ago. Beckinsale described her stomach as “ground zero” when the condition flares and said eating can become difficult, while severe acid reflux can also affect her voice.
The actress connected her current struggles with a period of intense grief as well. Her mother, actress Judy Loe, died on July 15, 2025, while her stepfather, director Roy Battersby, died on January 10, 2024.
Beckinsale Says She Was Diagnosed 16 Years Ago
Beckinsale said she was fortunate to have a doctor in London who recognized what she was experiencing and referred her to a specialist in New Jersey. She described mast cell activation syndrome as an autoimmune condition and said she had received the diagnosis 16 years earlier.
Medical sources including the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology describe MCAS as a condition involving episodes of mast-cell mediator release that can produce symptoms affecting multiple parts of the body, including the gastrointestinal system.
Beckinsale publicly discussed having MCAS in 2023 while responding to speculation that she had undergone cosmetic procedures, saying at the time that the condition caused her to react badly to many things.
According to PEOPLE, Beckinsale responded to one person who told her she needed to gain weight by pointing back to her explanation that eating can become difficult for her. When another commenter mocked her voice, she said she can experience severe acid reflux during a flare.
She Also Pointed to the Loss of Her Mother and Stepfather
Beckinsale said the physical scrutiny has continued while she has been mourning multiple family losses. She told followers that she had lost her family except for her daughter within a relatively short period and asked commenters to give people more grace when they do not know what is happening privately.
Her mother, Judy Loe, died at 78 after being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Beckinsale announced in July 2025 that Loe had died in her arms after what she described as immense suffering. Roy Battersby, who married Loe and helped raise Beckinsale, died at 87 in January 2024.
Beckinsale has previously connected those losses to changes in her appetite and weight. In late 2025, she said grief after the deaths of her mother and stepfather had affected her ability to eat, telling followers that shock and trauma were contributing to what she was experiencing, as Entertainment Weekly reported.
She said at the time that the appetite changes began after Battersby’s death and described her body’s response as connected to shock, trauma and possible survivor’s guilt.