Sara Bareilles.Photo:Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Jenny Anderson/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Sara Bareillessmiled on the red carpet at the2023 Tony AwardsSunday night, while wearing a plunging red Georges Chakra gown. But picking the dress drummed up feelings of insecurity for the 42-year-old “Brave” singer.
Prior to attending the annual event, where she was nominated for her leading actress in a musical role in the revival of Stephen Sondheim’sInto the Woods, Bareilles opened up on her Instagram Story about her new approach to thinking about her body.
Explaining that she was in the process of picking both her gown for the Tonys and for Monday night’s Tribeca Film Festival premiere ofWaitress, the filmed version of the hit Broadway musical she penned and starred in, Bareilles revealed that prepping for high-profile nights out like those typically triggered longstanding body image issues.
“Traditionally, when I’m getting ready for a big event, I go on a real bender of body-shaming and hating and trying to lose weight and get small and hit the gym super hard because there’s some kind of sense in myself that if I don’t present a certain way that I’m not allowed to participate,” she said on Saturday.
Now, Bareilles is working to break that bad habit.
“I am thinking a lot about how I’m preparing for these events … these two events mean a lot to me, obviously," she shared, explaining that she is “really trying to rewire” her brain to think differently. “[These are] old stories and I don’t ascribe to them anymore — I mean, I have to fight really hard not to ascribe. Like, Icanjust have the body that I have and go have a f—ing blast.”
Sara Bareilles.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
This isn’t the first time Bareilles has gotten candid about her struggles with her self-confidence. She especially felt those feelings as she’s reemerged in the public eye from the COVID-19 pandemic, to begin filming her hit comedy seriesGirls5Eva.
“WithGirls5eva, I have to be in front of the camera again and have to get dressed and get hair done. It brings up a lot of stuff for me. I have been someone who’s struggled with body image issues my whole life, and I’ve struggled with feelings of being self-conscious as I’ve gotten older,” Bareilles told PEOPLE in June 2021.
To get to a healthier mindset, Bareilles not only used tools she learned in years of therapy; she also embraced meditation, which she does “for at least 15 or 20 minutes” every morning.
In that vein, Bareilles is “trying to embrace that my body doesn’t do what it used to.”
“Ultimately, whether one pair of jeans fits or not, I can still enjoy the world and the people I love. There’s so much to celebrate, so I try to be gentle,” she told PEOPLE. “I think we’re made to feel in some ways that when we have low self-esteem days, that that’s abnormal or that’s wrong or that’s bad rather than the fact that that’s a really natural progression. You’re going to have good days and you’re going to have bad days. It’s just a question of how long you want to sit in the bad feelings.”
Sara Bareilles and Brian D’Arcy James.Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Sunday appeared to be a good day for Bareilles. Though the former Tony host ultimately lost the award toKimberly Akimbostar Victoria Clark, Bareilles did get a chance to take the stage at the United Palace Theater to perform “It Takes Two” alongside herInto the Woodscostar (and fellow nominee) Brian D’Arcy James.
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Joe Tippett and Sara Bareilles.Nina Westervelt/CBS via Getty Images
Nina Westervelt/CBS via Getty Images
Though he didn’t initially transfer with the production when it first moved to Broadway in April 2016, Tippett eventually stepped into the role. He also got the chance to star opposite Bareilles, who played Jenna in a number of limited runs.
Both Bareilles and Tippett are expected to attend the screening together. Other stars who are expected at the event include Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Tina Fey, Bart Freundlich, Josh Groban, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard, Justin Mikita, Paula Pell, Ben Platt and Rita Wilson.
source: people.com
