Stassi Schroeder: Katie Maloney-Schwartz Handled the Body Shaming with "Strength and Grace"

Katie Maloney-Schwartz has zero tolerance for body-shamers. The Vanderpump Rules pal has faced her fair share of undue criticism, but she's learned to love her body and shut down the haters — and has become a body-positive role model in the process. And after James Kennedy told her to "lose some f---ing weight" during a bummer of a moment on Season 7 Episode 2 (watch the clip above), Katie still kept her cool head. 

When talking about the cringe-worthy incident with The Lookbook, Katie told us: "I’m channeling my newfound confidence into a positive energy to fight back against harsh criticism. I want everyone to know they are worthy and remind themselves of that every day." And if you're impressed with Katie's empowering perspective, you're not alone. 

The Lookbook recently chatted with Stassi Schroeder for her take on the infamous moment. "Katie is a freakin’ champion," she told us. "I have watched her go through feeling awful about herself and just really feeling depressed to just being really healthy and super confident. She works out more than anyone I know. She’s really just knows herself now and ... you can’t get a rise out of her. She’s a very confident woman and I feel like she handled that with so much strength and grace. One hundred percent."

When we asked Stassi why it's so important to stand up against body shaming, she answered: "It’s freaking awful. You shouldn’t have to go into a workplace or go anywhere knowing that somebody is going to be saying things like that about you. It’s just — you know what? It’s so not creative. It’s the laziest f---ing insult you can give to someone."

On the next episode of Vanderpump Rules, Katie gives Lisa Vanderpump an ultimatum: Either James leaves SUR, or she does. Tune in to see what happens next Monday at 9/8c.