Lifestyle Health Lili Reinhart Says the Pregnancy Rumors Were Body Shaming and 'a Hit to My Self-Esteem' Riverdale's Lili Reinhart says that the pregnancy rumors from people body shaming her were "a hit to my self-esteem" By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Twitter Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 5, 2018 11:31 AM Share Tweet Pin Email Lili Reinhart wasn’t going to stay quiet after people started spreading pregnancy rumors about her because of an “unflattering” photo. The Riverdale star, 21, said that the rumors and questions about her body were hurtful to hear. “It was bugging me and at first it was really upsetting,” Reinhart told Entertainment Tonight at the CDFA Fashion Awards on Monday night. “I’m 21 — I’m not pregnant, I don’t want people to think I’m pregnant if I’m not pregnant. It did take a hit to my self-esteem for a second and then I kind of picked myself back up and said, ‘I’m not going to let this ruin my day!’ ” Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Reinhart, who is dating costar Cole Sprouse, quashed the pregnancy rumors on her Instagram Stories on May 28. “It’s unfortunate that one unflattering photo of my stomach circulating the internet causes hundreds of people to think that I’m pregnant,” she wrote on Instagram. “Nope. Not pregnant.” Lili Reinhart/Instagram The actress, who plays Betty Cooper on the Archie comics remake, told ET that she prefers to settle matters on her own. “I feel like a lot of people say you should just sweep it under the rug, don’t pay attention to it, but that’s never really been my style,” she said. “Maybe some people find that obnoxious, but I felt the need to say, ‘No. I’m not pregnant.’ ” RELATED VIDEO: Red Carpet Official! See Which Stars Confirmed Their Relationships on the Met Gala Red Carpet Reinhart added that regardless of whether she’s pregnant or not, she doesn’t want her body to be up for debate. “And also, if I was, it’s kind of sad that people felt the need to make my weight a topic of conversation, but it’s just the world we live in,” she said. “I’m going to always speak out about something that I feel I need to talk about.” Reinhart made a similar point in her Instagram Story a week prior, adding, “My body is something that I will NEVER apologize for. My body will constantly go through change. And so will yours. And that’s fine. So let’s not put so much time and effort into caring about a stranger’s figure.”