Claire Stoermer, mother of actress Zendaya, has publicly addressed negative comments made about her appearance on social media, labeling the criticism as "sad and frustrating."
Stoermer, 62, took to her Instagram story on Wednesday to confront online trolls who had commented on her looks. She shared a screenshot of a post about her appearance that had appeared on her feed and wrote about the potential for such comments to negatively impact mental health. "I totally get why people have to give up Instagram for their mental health," she stated. "If I was to go and read all the comments on this post about myself, I could feel really bad. There are some terrible, horrible comments, I did read some of them."
Stoermer, a former teacher, added that she no longer takes such remarks personally, a mindset she believes is crucial, especially for younger individuals. "And thank goodness I don't take that s**t personally. Once upon a time I may have. And if I was a young person, I know I definitely would have. It's sad and frustrating," she said.
She concluded her remarks by referencing the "four agreements," a set of self-help principles, noting that one of them is to "don't take anything personally, it has nothing to do with you."
Zendaya, who recently married actor Tom Holland, has often spoken about her close bond with her mother. The performer has credited Stoermer as her role model, recalling in a 2016 interview with Teen Vogue how her mother taught in underfunded inner-city schools in Oakland, California. "Watching her was magical; it instilled within me a true appreciation of and devotion to the importance of education," Zendaya said at the time.
Zendaya also shared in a previous appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that her parents have always instilled core values in her. "They just have always instilled in me those core values that I think I have to carry with me through everything. I give it up to them, I give it up to my family," she stated.
Stoermer currently runs her own jewelry company, Kizzmet Jewelry, which Zendaya has been seen wearing. Zendaya has Scottish, German, and African American heritage.