Twilight's Taylor Lautner Just Schooled The Internet On Aging

Taylor Lautner was only 16 when he was cast as everyone's favourite werewolf, Jacob Black. At the time, the hot, perpetually shirtless, ripped young actor with eight-pack abs became a sensation among the franchise's massive fan base. The craze for Lautner's body grew with each new instalment, inevitably taking a toll on his mental health and career, which faltered after the vampire saga ended.

Over the past few years, Lautner has opened up about his experiences with fame and body image during and after Twilight, many of which have been far from positive. In his latest revelation, the actor took to his Instagram account, which has more than 9 million followers, to discuss hurtful comments he has seen about himself. Lautner starts the video by telling about how he first saw the negative comments and the kind of reaction he had.

‘I just got back from a run, I was feeling really good about myself, trying to stay healthy both physically and mentally and I felt compelled to share something with you because when I got back from that run, I hopped on Instagram and read a post from last week,’ he said. ‘I was going through the comments and it brought up old feelings and memories on why I don’t look through comments.’

The post also features a photo of Lautner and his wife introducing their newly launched mental health podcast, The Squeeze. The comments, some of which the actor shares in his video, are typical of the kind of fan backlash he's been subjected to ever since the Twilight saga ended and he stopped killing himself at the gym every day.

Apparently, even though Lautner is happy with the shape he's in, some fans are critical of the way the 31-year-old actor has aged and 'let himself go.' According to the comments, Lautner's current image is nothing like his Twilight-era photos. The thing is, though, the actor is much happier today than he ever was at any time during the Twilight craze.

The actor-turned-podcaster took the cruel comments as an opportunity to teach the internet a lesson about mental health and prioritising the right things in life.

‘If this was 10 years ago, five years ago, maybe even two, three years ago, that really would've got under my skin,’ he said. ‘The reason it affected me as much as it did, is because my value was in the wrong things. [...] If you put your value in you, knowing who you are, what's important to you, what you love, that kind of stuff won't get to you.’

The actor added that he is now in a place where comments like that still bother him but don't make him want to change who he is. His healing journey is not over, but as fans noted in the comments, it is heartwarming to see how Lautner has managed to turn his Twilight trauma into something positive.

'Let's spread love and positivity. It's that simple. I love you guys,' Lautner says in the conclusion of his powerful message that everyone needs to hear and think about.

Source: Instagram.