Julianne Hough Opens Up About ‘Hate Comments’ on Her ‘Sizzling Sauna’ Instagram Reel: ‘Proud of My Body' (Exclusive)

Julianne Hough isn't letting internet trolls ruin her hot-girl summer!

The Dancing with the Stars co-host, 35, admits that she received a lot of "hate comments" for an Instagram Reel she posted in early June stretching while wearing a bikini in the sauna.

"I definitely was like, 'Oh, this looks really good. I'm going to put a fun, sexy song to it,'" she tells PEOPLE exclusively, explaining that she just decided to record the video at the spur of the moment and there was no other motive to it.

"And sure enough, I laughed so hard, I got more views on that post than something else that I'm talking about, like my book, for instance."

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Hough wore a brown bikini in the video, which was filmed from different angles while she was in a sauna stretching. The caption — "Six Senses Sizzling Sauna Stretches 🤸‍♀️🧘‍♀️" — was a joke.

She tells PEOPLE she uses the sauna for its health benefits and stretches in there because it keeps her muscles loose.

The interview was in partnership with Blender Bites (a company she invests in) for its newly launched Superberry Sport 1-Step Smoothie flavor, which is high in protein and made with "natural, clean, organic ingredients" to help active people like herself focus on muscle recovery, according to the dancer.

The Footloose star says she found the comments on the video fascinating because of the double standard society had when it comes to criticizing female bodies.

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"It's like you can see men with their shirt off constantly and they're in a sauna or a cold plunge or whatever, and the minute a woman does it in a bikini, it somehow changes the perspective, which is totally fine. I get it," Hough continues.

But the multi-hyphenate isn't going to let strangers on the internet tarnish her self-esteem and body image.

"I'm a 35-year-old woman who is proud of my body, and I'm okay to post that," she says.

She plans on wearing swimsuits well into the fall when she's scheduled lessons to learn proper swimming form.