Fitness coach, dancer and media personality Chiki Kuruka has criticised the renewed obsession with extremely thin bodies after South African singer Tyla faced body-shaming following her appearance at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards.
Kuruka spoke out on Tuesday, September 29, as social media users continued to debate Tyla’s appearance at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles.
The singer attended the VMAs in a revealing snakeskin two-piece outfit, with her appearance attracting widespread attention online. While many fans praised her look, others focused on her body and questioned changes they perceived in her waist and overall size.
Kuruka used the conversation to challenge what she described as a return of the “thinness aesthetic” and warned against repeating beauty standards associated with the 1990s.
“And this right here is the result of the thinness aesthetic that is yet again taking over the world. I thought we were over the size O obsession in the 90s, that we KNOW caused mental health issues,” Kuruka said.
She said she was disappointed that society appeared to be heading back towards an era when extremely thin bodies dominated conversations around beauty.
“It’s so disappointing seeing us travel this road again, and this time even worse, masking it as health,” she added.
Kuruka’s comments came directly amid the online criticism directed at Tyla after the VMAs.
The South African singer’s appearance became a talking point beyond her outfit, with some social media users scrutinising her body and commenting on whether she had become bigger or less thin than before.
The criticism prompted pushback from people who argued that Tyla’s body should not be treated as a subject for public debate.
Sontent creator Chebet Ronoh also spoke out, questioning why social media users continued to focus on the singer’s appearance.
“Are you guys planning to leave Tyla alone anytime soon? It is absolutely crazy. You guys bully this woman,” Ronoh said.
Ronoh also urged people to consider how they would react if similar comments were directed at them.
“Let us look in the mirror because aii, you must leave her alone. Tyla this, Tyla that,” she added.
The reactions have shifted part of the conversation away from Tyla’s outfit and towards the wider issue of body scrutiny faced by female celebrities.
For Kuruka, the debate represents more than criticism of one celebrity.
She connected the reaction to Tyla with what she sees as a broader return to the extremely thin body ideal that dominated fashion and popular culture in the 1990s.
Kuruka argued that society had already confronted the harmful consequences associated with those expectations and questioned why they were becoming prominent again.
The latest comments therefore place her firmly in the conversation around how fitness, beauty and health are discussed online.
Tyla controversy reignites wider debate
The backlash against Tyla has reignited a familiar conversation about the standards female celebrities are expected to meet.
Changes in body shape can attract intense scrutiny, particularly when celebrities appear at major fashion or entertainment events.
For Tyla, the attention followed an appearance that was otherwise focused on her fashion choices and presence at one of the entertainment industry’s biggest events.
For Kuruka, however, the reaction represents a much larger problem.
Her warning is that society should be careful about normalising a return to beauty standards that place extreme thinness at the centre of attractiveness.
The debate is likely to continue as social media users respond to celebrity appearances in real time, while public figures push back against the scrutiny placed on women’s bodies.
Kuruka’s intervention has consequently moved the conversation beyond Tyla’s VMAs appearance and towards a question she believes society has already confronted once before: whether extreme thinness should once again become the standard against which women’s bodies are judged.
