Sex. Therapy. Acne. Why I bare all, by Sports Illustrated’s Olivia Ponton

nypost.com:

Olivia Ponton has something on her mind, she does not keep it to herself. She says it then blasts it on TikTok or Instagram for her 11 million followers.“It’s not easy,” the 20-year-old Sports Illustrated model told The Post on a recent spring day ahead of Coachella.

Ponton can’t reveal if she will follow her 2022 debut when the SI Swim issue hits newsstands Tuesday (although Padma Lakshmi already did reveal she is in it), but she is definitely part of the SI family, as editor of its Instagram channel.That accolade is because of her own social media clout.

In addition to silly dancing videos and makeup tutorials, Ponton posts candid confessions about her coming to terms with her sexuality (she now identifies as “pansexual”), her struggles with eating disorders, and her myriad insecurities.But she said that it’s important to keep it real for her teen fans, from showing a picture of her happily snuggling with another woman, to filming herself talking about her anxiety.“I just think about when I was a young girl and thinking, what kind of [role model] did I need at that age?” she added. “I’m working on becoming that.”Ponton’s frankness has helped her get noticed.The Florida native has modeled for Fendi, Tory Burch, Juicy Couture, and American Eagle.

She flew to Montenegro and donned a bikini for Sports Illustrated and spices up SI Swim’s Instagram as its “social media editor at large.” Her outspokenness about issues ranging from LGBTQ rights to climate change to sustainability has only made her more attractive for brands looking to appeal to Gen Z.