Instagram: @troyesivan
Troye Sivan has opened up about his body image struggles after a doctor analysed his looks on TikTok.
On 21 January, the Grammy-nominated singer uploaded a lengthy post on Substack, titled “feeling a bit uggo (ugly),” which was initially titled “F*ck this guy!! For real!!”
As the OG title suggested, the post was made in regard to a now-deleted TikTok from an aesthetics doctor named Zayn, who described the ‘Rush’ singer as looking “older looking” during his appearance at the NGV Gala. He also shared unsolicited treatment advice that he said would “essentially re-twinkify” him.
At the start of the aforementioned Substack, Troye got candid about his relationship with his body and appearance, writing: “I oscillate constantly between feeling like I’m ageing in a good way, getting ‘sexier’ with time, and then feeling like Gollum’s very close pop-singing relative. So decrepit, somehow both skinny and fat at the same time.
“I’m 30. I’ve struggled with my body image for a lot of my life, as I’m sure most people have. I’m historically famously skinny, and I’m not THAT skinny anymore. I’m historically famously twinky (I am still the Google search result image for ‘twink’), and I’m not THAT twinky anymore. Oy vey.”
Troye went on share his “natural response” to the body image pressure, admitting that it is “two-pronged, depending on the day (or hour) you catch me.”
Troye Sivan publishes a new Substack piece about body image titled “F*ck this guy!! For real!!!!”
He directly responds to a doctor on Instagram who gave unsolicited advice on how to “re-twinkify” him.
🔗: https://t.co/VfVT8tNeLZ pic.twitter.com/YlEkML4z5N
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 21, 2026
In “Prong #1,” the Australian talent reflected on being “body-positive to the core,” crediting his time on Tumblr days for fostering those feelings.
“I’m grateful for mine (and yours, sexy), and that it allows me to do all the things that I want to, free of pain and illness. It’s also cool to age… I heard this piece of advice (anecdotally) from a person at the very top of the fashion world – ‘stay ugly’. Ie. ” Don’t f**k with your face,” he continued.
“How cool!! When everyone else has the same nose and no wrinkles and no smile lines and filler that’s migrated all the way down to their necks, you’ll be so happy and chic and weathered and wise.”
Troye then detailed his new workout and nutrition regimen, which he started on 1 December, revealing that he has achieved a lean “but more muscley, defined” physique by upping his calorie intake and gym sessions.
“It’s only been 6 weeks, and sometimes I’ll run my hands over my chest and feel like it belongs to someone else. I have more energy and less tension in my neck. I’m proud of myself,” he continued.
In Prong #2, the ‘Angel Baby’ singer addressed Zayn’s unsolicited advice, revealing that he’s researched the various treatments Zayn mentioned in his video, such as under-eye filler.
“Fat transfer to my under eyes (I’ve heard filler under eye is dangerous and can look bad) CONSULTATION was going to cost me $3k USD. I know because I called to ask,” he wrote.
After discussing what a fat transfer entails and being in the “ideal window” for baby botox, Troye admitted that he doesn’t want “that frozen look” despite noticing his “‘elevens’ are starting to show.”
Towards the end of the post, the beloved talent expressed his disdain for red carpet photos, revealing his initial thoughts about his NGV Gala appearance.
“I knew on the night of the NGV Gala that I did not feel like I looked good on the red carpet. I checked my Instagram tags and was definitely like……’ Oh. It wasn’t great.’ Hearing this unsolicited medical advice given publicly by a doctor I do not know pushed me toward Prong #2 for a fair few days.”
“So, who’s going to win out in the end of the day? Prong #1? Prong #2? I’m embarrassed to say, but I can’t make any promises. Keep your eyes on my under eyes for updates.”
Shortly after uploading his post, Troye returned with an update revealing that Zayn removed the video and sent him “a really thoughtful and sweet message apologising.”
“No hard feelings from my side whatsoever. Thanks for all the love, guys,” he concluded.
This isn’t the first time Troye has spoken about his struggles with body image.
In July 2023, the ‘Get Me Started’ came underfire following the release of his viral music video for ‘Rush.’
Fans were quick to point out the video’s centring of ‘white twinks and chiseled bodies’, prompting both serious criticisms and memes mocking the video’s lack of diverse bodies.
During an interview with Billboard at the time, Troye addressed the pushback, telling the news outlet: “I definitely hear the critique. To be honest, it just wasn’t a thought we had – we obviously weren’t saying, ‘We want to have one specific type of person in the video.’ We just made the video, and there wasn’t a ton of thought put behind that.”
The Australian singer also criticised the body-shaming aimed at him as a result of the video.
“There was this article yesterday, and they were talking about [the lack of body diversity], and in the same sentence, this person said ‘Eat something, you stupid twinks,'” Sivan says. “That really bummed me out to read that — because I’ve had my own insecurities with my body image. I think that everyone’s body is as beautiful as it is, including my own, and it just sucks to see people talking about other people’s bodies.”
Check out Troye Sivan’s full Substack post here.
