Mumbai: Actress Ileana D’Cruz has strongly criticised unrealistic beauty standards after global pop sensation Rihanna was trolled online for not “bouncing back” to her pre-pregnancy body soon after childbirth.
The controversy erupted after Rihanna was spotted with her younger son Riot, prompting a wave of social media comments questioning why the singer had not returned to her earlier physique. A magazine highlighted the online backlash, noting how the artist was bullied for not immediately regaining her former shape.
Reacting to the viral discussion on her Instagram stories, Ileana described the criticism as “bloody infuriating” and called out the absurd expectations placed on new mothers. The actress, who herself is a mother of two, did not hold back in defending the global star.
“She’s a powerful woman!” Ileana wrote, stressing that the pressure on women to instantly “bounce back” after childbirth is both unrealistic and unfair.
Pointing to the physical and emotional journey of motherhood, she added: “She made a whole baby and birthed that baby and is feeding and keeping that baby alive and healthy, yet the question is ‘hmm why hasn’t she bounced back yet?’ Bloody infuriating unrealistic expectations.”
Ileana married Michael Dolan in 2023 and welcomed their first child, a son, later that year. In 2025, she gave birth to their second son.
On the professional front, the 38-year-old was last seen in the romantic comedy-drama ‘Do Aur Do Pyaar’, directed by Shirsha Guha Thakurta. The film also featured Vidya Balan, Pratik Gandhi and Sendhil Ramamurthy.
Ileana made her screen debut in 2006 with the Telugu romantic drama ‘Devadasu’ and went on to star in successful films such as ‘Pokiri’, ‘Jalsa’, ‘Kick’ and ‘Julayi’. She also appeared in the Tamil film ‘Nanban’.
Expanding into Hindi cinema in 2012 with Anurag Basu’s ‘Barfi!’, she later featured in commercial successes including ‘Main Tera Hero’, ‘Phata Poster Nikhla Hero’, ‘Happy Ending’, ‘Mubarakan’ and ‘Pagalpanti’, along with crime thrillers ‘Rustom’ and ‘Raid’ and the financial drama ‘The Big Bull’.
