The Conversation (0)
News
Piers Morgan penned an open letter to plus-size model Tess Holliday, condemning her weight and urging people to stop celebrating her body because it’s ‘morbidly obese.’
"You are 5ft 2in and weigh over 300lbs," he wrote in an open letter to the model in response to her historic Cosmopolitan cover which featured her in an emerald swimsuit.
"As such, you are someone suffering from morbid obesity. That’s not being a 'fat-shaming douchebag'. That’s just a fact."
In the new opinion piece for the Mail Online, Morgan launches into what he argues is a well-meaning article because he is "worried" about her, arguing that nobody her weight could be "genuinely happy".
"Right now, I think you’re trapped in a hellish spiral of self-delusion in which your soaring fame and fortune is entirely dependent on you remaining morbidly obese," Morgan added.
You’re only getting the cover of Cosmo and endless TV appearances because you’re massively, dangerously overweight yet feigning joy. The editors and producers paying you large sums of money to glamorise your morbid obesity are cynically exploiting you. They’re your enablers.
Cosmopolitan sat you in a throne and declared you’re ‘a role model for others who’ve been excluded this way’, you’re ‘downright honest’ and you’re ‘everything the fashion industry needs right now’ because you ‘don’t conform to the narrow standard of beauty that’s been set by society.'
Morgan called these claims "absolute nonsense".
He called on Tess to stop on the path to "sickness, misery and possible death" as a result of her weight, and brought her sons into the mix when he urged her to "stop lying to yourself. They need you to stay alive and be their mum."
For her part, Tess has yet to respond directly to Morgan, but she did throw some heavy indirects his way. She retweeted a comment by BuzzFeed editor Curly Velasquez, who wrote:
Despite some English white dude making stupid ass comments about my beautiful friend – I stand by her. We aren’t delusional, we just understand beauty doesn’t come in one shape, color, size or texture. This isn’t about LOOK LIKE ME culture it’s about CELEBRATE YOURSELF culture. [sic]’
She also shared a quote on her Instagram page, which said: "Stop giving them the power to dictate your mood."
Previously, Morgan tweeted about an Instagram photo of her in underwear, calling it ‘very sad:’
She badly needs better friends, who are going to be more honest with her & explain she is dangerously overweight & should do something about it.’
Holliday had clapped back with a simple response:
Others reacted similarly.
And pointed out his hypocrisy.
Tess Holliday’s historic cover for Cosmo is historic for being the first time to feature a plus-sized model.
The decision has been praised for breaking boundaries with its representation of a large woman – a rarity in an industry that celebrates (often unhealthy) thinness as the dominant standard of beauty.
The cover story is being praised by the plus-sized community, who are excited to be given a place at the table in the conversation about what is considered beautiful.
More: Tess Holliday's Cosmo cover sends an important body positivity message
More: Plus-size model Tess Holliday posted a naked photo to make a perfect point about gender equality
Top 100
