CMAT has turned a painful post-festival moment into a wider conversation about how female artists are treated online, after saying she felt “deep sadness” over body-shaming comments that followed her BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend performance.

The Irish singer-songwriter, born Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, performed at the Sunderland festival on May 24. Soon after, images from her set began attracting comments about her body and weight, pushing the singer to respond directly on Instagram rather than allow the abuse to define the conversation around her performance.

Her message was unusually blunt, emotional and self-aware. CMAT said she was tired of repeatedly having to explain how badly she is treated because of her body, but added that staying silent was difficult when the abuse keeps growing alongside her fame. The singer said the criticism has arrived at “an accelerating and worsening pace” as more people discover her music and live shows.

According to The Guardian, CMAT said she felt compelled to “speak for myself” after seeing the reaction to photos taken during her Radio 1 Big Weekend appearance. Her post also referenced a Substack essay by a music fan writing as Front Row Feels, which she said captured much of what was causing her sadness.

The essay pointed to a visible difference in how women on the same festival bill were discussed online. While performers such as Zara Larsson and Olivia Dean appeared to receive more ordinary responses to their sets, CMAT became the focus of comments about her size. The issue, as the essay framed it, was not only cruelty but a lack of basic grace extended to one woman while others were allowed to simply be artists on stage.

CMAT also addressed fans and commenters who may have meant well but treated her body as a statement of rebellion. She made clear that her appearance is not a deliberate punk gesture, a branding choice or an act of defiance. She said she simply has a body, and that she has often wished she could change it to avoid the abuse, but has found that extremely difficult.

That detail gives her statement its force. CMAT was not offering a neat empowerment slogan or pretending the abuse does not hurt. She described the reality of being publicly visible while knowing that every performance can become another opportunity for strangers to judge her appearance before her voice, writing or stagecraft.

The singer said her career success has become harder to enjoy because of that scrutiny. She wrote that she would be allowed to enjoy it “so much more” if she were thin, a line that has resonated because it captures how quickly public celebration can turn conditional for women in entertainment.

Her comments also connect with themes she has already explored in her music. Last year, CMAT released Take a Sexy Picture of Me, a song that criticised the pressure placed on women to meet narrow beauty standards while still appearing confident, desirable and unaffected by criticism.

Despite the hostility, CMAT’s career continues to move forward. She is touring her third album, Euro-Country, and has a sold-out headline show in Dublin. Yet her latest statement shows that professional momentum does not protect artists from online abuse; in some cases, it can make the abuse louder.

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CMAT’s response is not just a reaction to one weekend performance. It is a reminder that body-shaming remains a persistent part of online culture, especially for women whose work places them in front of cameras, crowds and comment sections. Her statement asks a simple question without spelling it out: why is talent still so often judged through the body it arrives in?

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