Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)
Jameela Jamil is a powerhouse.
She is a renowned star of the screen, having begun her career in front of the camera in 2008, working in the UK as a television presenter for Channel 4. She later presented on BBC Radio 1’s The Official Chart Show as the first female presenter.
After moving from London to Los Angeles in 2016, Jamil’s acting career began. In September of that year she landed her first role as Tahani Al-Jamil in the beloved NBC comedy series The Good Place.
With her rise to stardom, Jamil has always been conscious to use her fame for good. In a recent interview, she said “I am an advocate first, and everything else last”. Jamil is recognised as a mental health activist, an advocate for disability rights, body neutrality and she herself identifies as queer.
Her journey in activism stemmed from childhood. Growing up, Jamil struggled with a stammer. This laid the foundations for her activism challenging ableism as she raises awareness about the challenges that individuals with disabilities face. Her experience with a speech impediment underpinned her resilience and determination, ultimately driving her to create a space where people can connect with others who have similar experiences. That’s when ‘I Weigh’ was born.
Jamil is the founder of the ‘I Weigh’ platform, a safe and inclusive space that champions radical inclusivity. Beginning on Instagram in 2018, the platform has expanded to a website which shares diverse stories with the goal of mobilising activism.
Her platform works to undo societal norms, especially surrounding body image, particularly for women. Her advocacy has resulted in Instagram and Facebook changing their policies in order to ban advertisements for weight-loss products on the feeds of users under the age of 18.
Jamil uses her platform and social media following to vocalise her advocacy. She frequently, and candidly, expresses her activist views. However, in more recent years, Jamil’s has found that her social media posts have been shadowbanned, meaning the visibility of her posts had been limited without her knowledge or consent. She expressed in a 2024 instagram post that, despite having 3.8 million followers, only 0.5 percent of them can find her account.
She has made efforts to override the algorithm by posting videos on Instagram, speaking about important issues whilst wearing more revealing clothing. These videos do have more views and interactions than her regular advocacy content therefore suggesting that Instagram is more likely to promote videos of women in provocative outfits, than women speaking out on discrimination and marginalisation.
Despite her words being continuously edited and silenced, Jamil continues to speak out and make strides for marginalised groups. She now writes her own Substack, allowing her to write essays about issues that resonate with her, without the threat of being censored.
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