Reggie Hayes of “Girlfriends” is best known for his eight-season run as William Dent on the award-winning early-2000s sitcom.
In a sit-down with Comedy Hype, the actor opened up about his health struggles and how he responds to criticism online about his weight gain over the years.
Hayes has dealt with insults about his appearance over the years but he attempted to change the conversation by sharing a 2016 photo of him lying on a bed that circulated online.
“You should have seen the pictures we didn’t put up,” he joked. “I was in this hotel room like hey let’s take some whacked a— [photos.] I mess around you know? I thought it was funny.”
Due to social media drawing other conclusions from the photo he took it down. As other photos of Hayes popped up on the internet, critics had more to say.
“When the news came out that I was heavy, people really came out and put me down for like two days,” he remembered. The 54-year-old said he would initially respond by telling folks online, “Y’all are some ugly people. I guess they were surprised that I wrote them back.”
He continued, “Most people are overwhelmingly positive. You have like 100 people that like you then six people have something nasty to say. … And it hurts. Everything hurts.”
Despite his somewhat short-lived success on the hit television show, “Girlfriends,” he said it made no sense to him that others would attack him online.
“You watched the show, you enjoyed the show and that’s what your first instinct is? To call me and tell me how bad I look?” he questioned. “F–k you and f–k anybody like you too.”
The NAACP Image Award winner said now if, “You say something negative to me on Instagram I’m gonna block you, feel bad about it, and then I’ll forget in two days.
The 54-year-old also said that issues with his heart, breathing, and diabetes landed him in the hospital twice since 2015, including his 2020 when he shared a selfie from the hospital.
“I was just having trouble breathing and a lot of chest pains. I had diabetes for a while and that went away,” Hayes explained.
But he’s since beaten the condition, lost 60 pounds from using a calorie counter on his phone, and exercising. “I put the calories in there everything I eat every day and I’m walking and stuff. I got a weak heart so it’s kinda hard to work out,” Hayes shared. “But I do.”
“I think I feel probably like a 50-year-old dude feels who doesn’t really have an actual job,” he joked again.
Aside from the negative commentary, a few fans also came to Hayes defense.
One said, “People are so cruel. How would you feel if someone was being mean to you while you battled health issues? We need to be kinder to people because no one is exempt from life. Wishing him the best
A second wrote, “It’s a cruel world. What’s new. He could probably lose that massive neck in about 2-3 months of hardwork in the gym.”
Hayes also has a lengthy filmography résumé that includes appearances in the film “Charlie’s Angels,” the action series “Black Lightning” season 1 of the Golden Globe-winning sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” and the Amazon Prime series “Run Sweetheart Run” in 2022.
