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Stunning Swedish teen model rips the fashion industry for labeling her 'too big'

A 19-year-old Swedish model is railing against the fashion industry, claiming she's been labeled "too big" to walk the runway despite her thin frame.
/ Source: TODAY

A 19-year-old Swedish model is railing against what she calls the "absurd" standard of the fashion industry, claiming in a video that she has been labeled "too big" despite her thin frame.

Agnes Hedengard, who says she has been modeling for five years, posted a YouTube video of herself in a bikini talking about her inability to get work from several clients who feel her measurements are "too big."

"Up to this date, I don't get any more jobs since the industry thinks I'm too big,'' she says. "They think my butt is too big, and they think my hips are too wide. According to the model industry, you cannot look like this. You need to be thinner."

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The 5-foot-11 Hedengard says she has a body-mass index of 17.5. Anything under 18.5 is considered "underweight" by the National Institutes of Health.

"As soon as they get ahold of my measurements, it's a whole other story,'' she said about potential clients. "They are like, 'No, she's too big. She needs to get into better shape, we will not work with her, she's way too big.''

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The video has been viewed more than a million times in three days, furthering Hedengard's goal of showing what she believes to be the ridiculous standards of the fashion industry.

"It's absurd and I hate it, and I just want other people to see this,'' she says. "Love yourself. Don't let anyone tell you any different."

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