PT Entertainment
Taylor Lautner flexed his bicep in a mirror selfie following critics claiming he aged “like a raisin.”
The “Twilight” heartthrob, 31, posed in a muscle tee and blue workout shorts before heading to a gym session that left him hot and sweaty on Thursday.
Lautner flaunted his toned muscles confidently, captioning his Instagram story, “Let’s get it.”
Hours later, he followed up with a dewy post-workout selfie that read, “Told ya.”
The fit actor, who was known for showing off his six-pack in the “Twilight” movie series, appeared to have shaken off hateful comments from trolls who said he “looks like old broccoli” and “didn’t age well.”
In a vulnerable Instagram video on May 22, Lautner opened up about the negative comments he received after making an appearance on the “Today” show alongside his wife, who is also named Taylor.
The “Abduction” star claimed that he doesn’t usually read social media comments and was shocked to learn what people were saying about him.
“If this was 10 years ago, five years ago, maybe even two, three years ago, that really would have got under my skin,” he said.
“It would have caused me to want to just go in a hole and not go outside, definitely [not] do press and interviews and put myself in the position where I have to see that kind of stuff.”
Lautner, who used the video to promote Mental Health Awareness Month, said that he has learned how to avoid falling into despair over people’s opinions.
“You find value where you put it,” he continued. “And if you put your value in what other people think of you, that’s how you’re going to feel.
For more Page Six you love …
“But if you put your value in you knowing who you are, what’s important to you, what you love, that kind of stuff won’t get to you.”
The actor concluded his video by encouraging others to be kind.
“It’s not that difficult. Let’s be nice to each other. Let’s spread love and positivity. It’s that simple,” he said.
Lautner previously opened up about his struggles with his body while on his podcast “The Squeeze” in February.
The Hollywood star, who appeared shirtless several times in the “Twilight” films, said he was negatively impacted by the pressure to go to the gym several times a day, nearly six times a week while filming the romance fantasy movies that ran from 2008 to 2012.
“When I was in it, when I was 16 through 20 years old, starring in this franchise where my character is known for taking his shirt off every other second, no, I did not know that it was affecting me or going to affect me in the future with body image,” he said.
“But now looking back at it, of course it did, and of course it is going to.”
He continued, “In the first movie, I was 140 pounds, and in ‘New Moon’ I was 175 … So yeah, that wasn’t my natural body. I had to work very hard for it and very, very hard just to maintain it.”
After filming wrapped, Lautner said he stopped heading to the gym as frequently and watched as his body returned to “normal.”
“I remember one of the first times seeing it online was very tough. I was filming a movie called ‘Run The Tide,’ and my character in that is not supposed to be a bodybuilder or ripped guy in any way. I thought I looked fine.”
It wasn’t until fans started comparing his “natural” body to his “Twilight” body that Lautner became self-conscious, which became brutal to his mental health.
A lesson the actor has since learned is to not put his value on how he looks.
“Don’t think just because you lose the 20 pounds or put on the muscle, you’re going to wake up and look in the mirror and all of a sudden be happy. That’s not where you should be finding value,” he said.
