When Kandi Burruss spoke about her breast reduction surgery in a video last week, she joined a growing list of celebrities who have gone under the knife to alleviate the discomfort that can come with a larger bust.
Mayo Clinic says the operation, also known as reduction mammaplasty, "is a procedure used to remove excess fat, tissue and skin from the breasts.
"If you have large breasts, you might choose to have breast reduction surgery to ease discomfort or to achieve a breast size proportionate to your body.
"Breast reduction surgery might also help improve your self-image and your ability to participate in physical activities."
And while the entertainment industry has long been known for its stars going under the knife for a wide range of augmentations, a number of celebrities have also shared the experiences that led to them reducing their breast size.
Rachel Bloom
Earlier this month, Rachel Bloom took to Instagram to share before-and-after photos of herself in a clinic as she revealed to her followers that she had also undergone the surgical procedure.
Adding a lengthy caption, the Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star wrote: "I did it! Context: Before pregnancy, I hadn't ever craved a breast reduction. I was pretty happy with where my body was at. I mean, at times, my dd/ddd boobs (size dependent on time of month) were annoying and sweaty (and yes, heavy), but I was lucky to never really experience major physical discomfort from them.
"But then, I got pregnant and grew very quickly from a dd/ddd to a size G. Then, after breastfeeding, their entire texture changed; they got super super soft, which is a thing that pregnancy/breastfeeding does that no one really tells you about. So at the end of it all it felt like I had a pair of big soft balls weighing down my chest."
She went on: "I started to get underboob rashes, shoulder grooving (when your bra strap digs into your skin), neck issues and night sweats (I couldn't fall asleep unless I had a pillow in BETWEEN my breasts).
"I met with 3 doctors and, over the course of a few months, settled on someone lovely. My request was to just go back my pre-pregnancy size (if not maybe a little bit smaller). I'm still healing so we'll see what happens. But I already feel more comfortable and relieved."
On her musical comedy show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, she famously performed the song "Heavy Boobs."
She told Entertainment Weekly in 2016 of her inspiration: "My boobs were a burden, because when they were painful, nothing would get done. It didn't feel like my body."
She added of the song: "It was really important to me that this song would not come off as, 'Look at me and my big boobs! I'm so sexy, oooh!' I wanted it to invite women in."
Ariel Winter
Speaking to Glamour.com in 2015, Ariel Winter spoke about how she was left in emotional and physical pain after the overwhelming development of her breasts at the age of 15, when her cup size went from 32F to 34D.
"It really did happen overnight," she said. "I remember being in my sister's wedding and being so flat and thinking, 'I just wish I could grow boobs!' And then overnight I did. But then they kept growing and growing and growing, and it didn't seem like they were going to stop."
After two of years of feeling unhappy with her body and encountering body-shaming comments, she ultimately decided to get reduction surgery.
Of her decision to go public at the time, she explained: "I didn't want to not tell anybody and then have another million stories [saying], 'What happened to Ariel? She looks so different.' And I also think there's some good that can come from [telling] my story.
"It's something that I did to better my life and better my health, and I think that can benefit a lot of young girls. I have felt happier with myself than I ever have."
Amber Rose
Model Amber Rose took to her Instagram account in January 2018 to reveal that she would be reducing her bosom, months after publicly mulling the idea.
In a May 2018 interview with People, Rose revealed that she had gone down to a 36DDD cup size, as she admitted "it's like a dream come true" to be able to wear such fashion items as spaghetti-strapped tank tops.
She went on: "Now when I'm running out the door, I don't have to search for the right bra to fit within the shirt or to match the color of the shirt, so, it doesn't show and look gaudy. I can kind of just throw it on and I'm like, 'This is amazing!' I've been missing this my whole life."
Queen Latifah
Rapper-turned-actress Queen Latifah reduced her cup size from "an E or an F" back in 2003 after losing weight and seeing that her bosom remained the same.
However, the star, real name Dana Owens, admitted that she was initially reluctant to go under the knife, telling People in 2007: "It took me about a year and half to really do it. I didn't want to get it.
"But I had lost 25 lb. and my breasts didn't go anywhere! I was still carrying that load. I didn't quite want them to be this small. I was a little p***** about that."
"I was pretty big," she went on. "Now I'm like a DD. I wanted to be a triple. They took one D too many! So that was hard to deal with. And there's scarring and stitches. It was painful. I missed my old look. I went through a little depression after surgery. I even got a weak prescription for antidepressants, but I didn't take it."
Kandi Burruss
In her new YouTube series, called Body Work, The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Burruss spoke candidly about recent changes to her figure.
"Can you tell? Can you tell they're smaller?" she asked viewers in a video released on Monday. "Let's not let all the other diets and stuff that I've done confuse you into thinking that that's what made my boobs get reduced, because it is not, honey!
"Yeah, the weight loss, I did have some weight loss. I have tried some juice fasts recently. Or, excuse me, 'juice cleanse' recently. Yes, I did lose a couple pounds with that."
While she tried a host of other avenues to bringing down her bust size, she ultimately sought the help of a doctor.
"I have been trying to change the way I eat," explained the TV personality. "I've been trying intermittent fasting. I've been trying everything to lose weight, but that has nothing to do with why my boobs are smaller, OK?
"I went to a doctor and he did a little, he cut a chunk off of each one of them, OK? I'm just gonna keep it 100 with you."
Patricia Heaton
Actress Patricia Heaton was also frank when discussing her motivation for getting breast reduction surgery, which she teamed with tummy tuck: "Vanity. I mean it. Vanity," she told People in 2002, soon after the surgery.
"I had four C-sections and my stomach looked like the map of the world. My breasts were hanging down to here from breastfeeding those babies, and my nipples were like platters. I wanted to fit into the gowns that I finally got to wear."
"It's better to be honest if you can," she added of her reason for speaking out. "There is a lot in Hollywood that is not as it seems. When I go out to an important public appearance, I have a lot of help to look the way I do.
"There is someone to do my makeup, someone to do my hair, a stylist to help me find just the right clothes. It's really not fair, the image we present to the world. Women shouldn't look at people they see on TV and compare themselves to them, because you aren't seeing those women the way they really are."
Marie Osmond
During an appearance on The Talk back in 2013, Marie Osmond revealed that she had opted to go under the knife for breast reduction surgery decades earlier.
"I had very large breasts," she said, per E! News. "I had a breast reduction. I was my mother's daughter. I was in like, twentysomething [years old]."
She continued: "When I did Sound of Music, all they did was talk about the hills were alive! That's all they saw were my boobs."
"Seriously, women can get so big and you look like human zippers," she added. "And honestly, I did it too because my back hurt. I don't get the big boob thing."
Amelia Gray Hamlin
Model Amelia Gray Hamlin revealed that she got breast reduction surgery when she was 16 years old, after a strep infection and mastitis in her left breast caused it to swell—with the swelling remaining after she recovered.
Speaking on an episode of The Skinny Confidential Him and Her podcast, Hamlin—daughter of Lisa Rinna and Harry Hamlin—revealed that the infection started when her nipple piercing got caught on something, causing a small wound.
"When I eat eggs, I either get strep throat, or I get strep in parts of my body," she said on the podcast, as she revealed that she had been eating eggs for breakfast at the Coachella festival, where the accident occurred.
"It was the worst thing I've ever been through," Hamlin said of falling ill.
After visiting the emergency room, she met with a disease specialist, who told her she had strep in her left breast and "was 12 hours away from going [into] sepsis."
Left with an uneven bust, Hamlin added: "I'm not going to lie, I've never talked about this, but I had to fully get surgery. I had to get a breast reduction."
Soleil Moon Frye
As if self-acceptance as a teenager isn't enough of a struggle, actress Soleil Moon Frye found herself contending with a 38DD bust line at the age of 15.
In an interview with People back in 1993, the Punky Brewster star said that she was taunted by boys in her neighborhood and dubbed "Punky Boobster" whenever she went for a jog.
"People started to think of me as a bimbo," said the screen star, whose rapidly changing figure was attributed to the medical condition gigantomastia, a rare condition characterized by excessive breast growth.
Ahead of her 16th birthday, she made the decision to remove the excess breast tissue, telling People at the time: "I didn't know I would be so happy. I am just loving myself right now. I'm finally free to be the teenager that I am."
Janeane Garofalo
In Janeane Garofalo's case, she decided that she wanted to reduce her bust long before she hit success in the entertainment industry and became famous.
In an interview with Inked magazine, the comedian and actress admitted that she "hated" the way her breasts were out of proportion with her petite frame—prompting her decision to go under the knife and make a change.
"I did that many years ago, because at five-foot-one, I had boobs like Dolly Parton. I've never thought big boobs were good," she said. "I hated them the second I got them.
"I did nothing but try to hide them my whole life, and as soon as I was in college I was like, 'These have got to go.' ...When I did stand-up, people would heckle me because such a short person with such big boobs is very distracting."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
");jQuery(this).remove()})jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on('changed.owl.carousel',function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled')}if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled')}})}})})
