In case you missed it, over the weekend, Vancouver-based comedian and YouTube star Nicole Arbour ruffled more than a few feathers with her video titled “Dear Fat People,” in which she calls fat people lazy, smelly, and tells them to eat less and exercise more.
While Arbour’s whole shtick is standing out against political correctness in the name of comedy, her rant about how “fat shaming isn’t a thing” may not have been the most respectful way to address our country’s obesity problem. Instead, she just ended up deeply offending not only fat people, but pretty much anyone who’s ever struggled with their body image.
Luckily, the body-positive community stepped in to respond to Arbour and explain that, 1) You can’t know anything about a person’s health just by looking at them, 2) Studies show that fat-shaming actually has the opposite effect (aka, causing more weight gain), and 3) It’s none of her damn business to tell other people what to do with their bodies. We are all about encouraging health and fitness, but we also know that mental health plays a role in total-body wellness—and the first step is adopting a body-positive attitude and loving yourself.
Here are some of the best responses we’ve seen so far.
Whitney Thore, star of TLC’s My Big Fat Fabulous Life:
you are worthy of self love & inner peace no matter your size or shape or weight or height or really anything about your body
— Tyler Oakley (@tyleroakley) September 4, 2015
Grace Helbig, YouTube comedian
