If you thought body-shaming only happened to women, think again. It may be few and far between, and not talked about nearly as much when men experience it, but it does happen.
Recently, one of the greatest football players of this generation, Tom Brady, became the target of some mean-spirited critics, who don't think his body is up to the standards society deems acceptable.
The New England Patriots quarterback, who admittedly has made his body a part of his brand (he even wrote a book about it), was photographed while on vacation and the online trolls had a lot to say about the way he looks.
In the photo, Brady is with his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, on a beach in Costa Rica, and some people couldn't help but point out that his sculpted physique has been replaced by the "dad bod."
"Wait. This is Brady's body. That looks like my body. Not expecting my superhero to look like me," tweeted one football fan. Another wrote, "How does Tom Brady have the body of pre pubescent teen on that lean mean diet he is on? This has me twisted. Someone give that man some steak and a cycle of steroids. Jesus."
Some people described the five-time Super Bowl champion's body "pliable," "trash," "goofy," and "surprisingly underwhelming."
One Twitter user even claimed that the athlete is "lying about his diet."
Sadly, it's not the first time that Brady has been in this position. The 40-year-old has always received criticism over his body, and not just from the public, but from NFL officials too.
In a 2016 interview with GQ, he revealed that his body contributed to why he was picked 199th in the sixth round of the NFL draft. There was concern he wasn't strong or tall enough to last in the league.
"I was the kid that was the 199th pick that never had the body for it," Brady told GQ's Andrew Goble. "People didn't think I'd play one year in the NFL, and now I'm going on my 17th year."
People are so caught up with our culture's unrealistic standards that they forget it is Brady's "dad-bod" that led him to a record-breaking career.
The quarterback, who turns 41 on August 3, is the third-highest paid player in NFL history with, earning over $197 million during his career.
He continues to earn about $8 million annually from endorsements alone.
On top of it all, Brady, a father-of-three, is happily married to one of the highest-paid models in the industry with a net worth that's twice as much as his. It is estimated that Bundchen is worth a whopping $360 million.
Those fat-shaming the athlete don't hold a candle to his achievements. It's very likely that Brady is unfazed by the awful comments about his looks, but that doesn't make it acceptable.
There were people who came to Brady's defense, calling out his body-shamers for not only being unnecessarily mean, but also for the double-standard.
Brady has had a tough time winning critics over and it's not just because of his body. Over the years, he has been repeatedly accused of cheating, and even got suspended in 2015 after "substantial and credible evidence" showed that he knew Patriots employees were deflating footballs.
More recently, he received flack from the parent police after a clip from his web series, Tom vs. Time, showed him kiss his 11-year-old son Jack on the lips.
While some viewers considered it an innocent peck, others said the kiss was wrong.