Lauren Jauregui is no longer letting the comment section decide whether she should feel good about her body. Speaking on the carpet at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, the Fifth Harmony singer addressed the scrutiny surrounding changes in her appearance and made clear that she has little interest in shrinking herself to meet somebody else’s standard.
“Honestly, I feel like it’s punk as f–k to not be a twig right now,” Jauregui told E! News. She added that she is a woman whose body fluctuates, rejecting the idea that looking different from one stage of her career to another requires an apology.
Jauregui also said she still looks at herself and sees someone beautiful. Rather than grounding that confidence in approval from strangers, she described her “aura” and “light” as something that comes from within and pointed out that she is still working, appearing on major carpets and moving forward with her career.
She also referenced living with the condition long known as polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS during her interview and said she wished more people felt comfortable discussing it.
Jauregui Says She Still Sees Someone Beautiful in the Mirror
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PEOPLE reported that she repeatedly returned to the idea that her sense of self no longer depends on external validation, telling E! that she thinks she is beautiful and that her confidence comes from somewhere deeper than public opinion.
She also pushed back on the assumption that criticism should diminish the way she sees herself professionally. Jauregui pointed to the fact that she was standing on the VMAs carpet and continuing to pursue her work, saying she is “still doing my thing” and “still a star.”
She Also Spoke About PMOS, Formerly Known as PCOS
Jauregui brought up her diagnosis while discussing the way women’s bodies can change, saying the condition is something “not a lot of people like to talk about.” She did not present it as the sole explanation for her appearance.
PEOPLE noted that the disorder is now formally known as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS, after an international renaming effort concluded in May. The updated name is intended to better reflect a condition that can involve hormonal, metabolic, reproductive, skin and mental-health effects rather than implying that it is simply an ovarian-cyst disorder.
Online Hate Does Not Hit Her the Way It Used To
Fifth Harmony’s Lauren Jauregui shared a message about body image during an exclusive E! News interview at the 2026#VMAs Sept. 27: “I think it’s punk as f—k!” pic.twitter.com/4a70YXTeui
— E! News (@enews) September 28, 2026
Jauregui said age and experience have changed how much attention she gives people criticizing her online. Instead of actively searching for the harshest reactions, she said she now focuses on the people supporting her, telling E! that she reads and feels the love coming from that part of her audience.
Just Jared recalled her 2021 discussion about body-image struggles that began after bullying in fifth grade and intensified when photographs of her in a bathing suit were circulated and mocked online.
She Once Said She Searched for Comments That Confirmed Her Insecurities
During a 2021 appearance on Red Table Talk: The Estefans, Jauregui described seeing cruel comments after photographs of her in a swimsuit were posted online.
She said the experience hit insecurities that already existed from childhood bullying and eventually realized she had begun actively looking for the most negative reactions. At the time, Jauregui said those comments functioned as confirmation of things she already feared about herself.