Keira Knightley talks about her weight

In the interview for Elle's June issue, Knightley speaks about the uproar caused by photos that were taken of her in a bikini in January when she was at her skinniest. "When all that blew up, I felt terrible," she said, adding that the ensuing gossip about her health made her "devastated."

Keira explains that her skinny physique came from the extreme work schedule she endured filming Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. She told Elle, "I had lost weight. We were filming in searing temperatures and shooting fight scenes in which you were wearing a wetsuit underneath a load of corsets, fighting with heavy weights in the water. Can you imagine a more advanced cardio workout than that done hour after hour?"

The 22-year-old actress was especially hurt by the suggestion that her figure would influence other young women to seek to lose weight. She said, "It appeared that I were promoting something when I absolutely was not. I am thin because that's what I am, and I was thinner at that point because of the work I do. Nothing else...I don't want my picture to be on anorexia websites...I...hate the fact that naturally thin women like me are becoming scapegoats for promoting a mental illness."

In an attempt to end the rumors about her figure, Knightley sued Britain's Daily Mail over a story they ran that made it seem as though she was lying about having an eating disorder. She also spoke to her doctor about gaining weight. She confesses, "[The doctor] told me that for someone of my body type to get to a [European] size 12 [an American size 6-8], I would have to eat a lot of sh** food, stop exercising and drink loads. But I don't want to have to go 'round eating crap and being really unhealthy in order for people to stop having a go at me."