Megyn Kelly Claims Fat-Shaming Can Be A Good Thing

Celebrity

Megyn Kelly Claims Fat-Shaming Can Be A Good Thing

The subject of other people's appearances seem to be a hot topic these days. Everyone is quick to judge what someone else looks like if it doesn't align with our society's standards of beauty. This is often facilitated by social media, where one can express their thoughts while hiding behind a screen.

Now more than ever, people are very focused on looks, and as a result, there have been plenty of instances of people getting called out for their size. Celebrities like Kelly Clarkson and Amy Schumer have experienced the wrath of fat-shamers on the internet, but even their powerful responses couldn't deter the trolls.

NME.com

As with any form of bullying, fat-shaming has severe consequences. However, there are some who disagree, and among them is Today show's Megyn Kelly.

Earlier in the week, Kelly sat down for an interview with "Fit Mom" Maria Kang, a mommy blogger who created quite the stir a few years ago when she shared a photo of her toned self alongside her three children, and captioned it with "What's your excuse?"

TV Guide

While discussing the controversy surrounding Kang's post, Kelly felt compelled to share her experience with fat-shaming when she was younger.

However, things took a turn when she said that her stepfather, Peter Kirwan, used to fat-shame her and that it isn't necessarily a negative thing.

Kelly revealed that she specifically asked Kirwan to fat-shame her whenever she wanted to eat more food. She considered it an effective weight management method.

"You should parlay the shaming thing into a professional business. Because some of us want to be shamed," said Kelly. "When I was in law school, I was gaining weight, I said to my stepfather, "˜If you see me going into that kitchen one more time, you say, "˜Where you going, fat a"“?' And it works!"

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As expected, many women were furious over Kelly's comments and expressed their anger through social media.

"Turned on the Today Show to catch @megynkelly share her dieting hack: FATHER-IN-LAW [she later corrected it to stepfather] holds her accountable by saying "Where you going, FATASS??!" when he sees her heading into the kitchen. Genius!" tweeted Justine Harman, the senior editor of Glamour magazine.

Another Twitter user wrote, "@megynkelly suggesting that women should still shame other women into being "fit." Get a new job, "fat-ass." Still #cringeworthy"

After facing a massive backlash, Kelly bactracked on her earlier comments and explained her stance on fat-shaming on the show.

The host said that she "would never encourage [body-shaming] towards any person, and candidly spoke about how many members of her family, including her sister, are or have been obese.

"I said something yesterday on the show that clearly struck a nerve, and I think it's a conversation we need to have openly," Kelly continued. "We were discussing body shaming others, something I absolutely do not support. In fact, quite the opposite."

Red Alert Politics

Kelly also admitted to having struggled with her own body image issues, and it wasn't until she became an adult that she started to get slightly more comfortable with her appearance.

"I was scared of gaining weight because of the insane standard this country holds its women to and because I was and remain afraid of dying in my 40's, which happened to my father," Kelly confessed, adding, "as an adult I've gotten healthier in my approach to eating, but I like every woman I know, still wrestle with body image, and still cringe when I hear a person attacked for his or her weight."

She emphasized that she understands "that weight is an issue for millions of people, think and heavy alike, and "neither deserves to be judged or shamed for how they choose to handle that struggle," she concluded.

What do you think of Kelly's comments?

Blair isn't a bestselling author, but she has a knack for beautiful prose. When she isn't writing for Shared, she enjoys listening to podcasts.