Millennials survived the original Y2K skinny craze — and now they’re warning Gen Z not to repeat history.
Millennial model and content creator Kaila Uli is going viral for calling out TikTok’s troubling obsession with the “Y2K skinny” aesthetic — a look she says glamorizes the brutal body standards that dominated the late ‘90s and early 2000s.
“My first thought was, ‘No, we can’t go back here,’” Uli, 33, told Newsweek in a recent interview.
“These girls don’t understand how absolutely dangerous trying to achieve a Y2K body was. People starved themselves, used drugs, went to the hospital, did extreme diets like the lemon cayenne diet, and went to absolute extremes to try to look emaciated.”
The Los Angeles-based creator, who grew up modeling during the era of ultra-low-rise jeans — and even lower self-worth — said she felt the pressure from a young age.
“I started dieting at 14 once I saw photos of Jessica Simpson being called obese,” Uli revealed.
Uli, who was frequently sent home from castings “for being fat,” says Gen Z doesn’t realize how toxic the era truly was, when “heroin chic” wasn’t a cry for help, but a goal.
“I’ve had both anorexia and bulimia, and I’m blessed to be recovered, but not everyone is. I don’t want to see a resurgence of women destroying their bodies to get thin,” Uli warned.
But with trends like #Y2KSkinny and #2000sSkinny climbing the algorithm — alongside the rise of weight-loss injections like Ozempic — Uli says the online culture is shifting back toward the kind of body ideals that nearly destroyed her.
She called out the trend in a now-viral Instagram video, saying Gen Z “don’t remember how bad it was” — and the message clearly hit home. Her clip has racked up more than 2 million views and over 111,000 likes.
The comments section quickly turned into a virtual support group.
“Thank you! I’m glad someone said it because they’re trying to take us back there,” one viewer wrote.
“Raise your hand if you have been victimized by y2k standards,” another added.
As The Post previously exposed, “SkinnyTok” has spiraled into a digital danger zone — peddling starvation, so-called “discipline,” and crash-diet chaos as the secret to happiness (or at least a thigh gap).
Experts say the trend is sending vulnerable viewers down a very thin — and very toxic — rabbit hole, warning that the trend glamorizes starving yourself and treats eating like a chore, not a basic human need.
Some of the slogans sound like satire — if they weren’t so scary: “If your stomach is growling, pretend it’s applauding you.”
“This mindset dismisses the complex realities of genetics, mental health and socioeconomic factors, promoting shame over support. It’s a toxic narrative disguised as empowerment,” Stephen Buchwald of Manhattan Mental Health, told Forbes.
“Seeing curated, unrealistic images of thinness on a daily basis can make people feel like they’re never ‘good enough.’ This creates a cycle of self-criticism and low self-worth, which can escalate into anxiety and depression,” he added.
Ultimately, when it comes to body image, what’s passé (and problematic) should be left in the past — and millennials are begging Gen Z not to take the bait.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
