This Morning’s Phillip Schofield raises concerns over ‘bold and beautiful’ plus-size women

Phillip Schofield praised the plus-size women who vow to "put fat shamers to shame”, but raised concerns about the 'unhealthy' message they are promoting

This Morning

by Kayleigh Dray |
Updated on

Sitting down on ITV’s This Morning, Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield met with three women who, with a combined weight of 75 stone, have vowed to "put the fat shamers to shame".

Dressed in bikinis, the plus-size women revealed that they had decided to appear on the show as a stand against the trolls and haters who look to put them down.

One of the women said: “It’s all about confidence and how you feel about yourself.

“Why does it matter? As long as the people around me love me, and I love myself, a stranger’s comments mean nothing.

“I’m not here for them.”

Phillip, who described the girls as “bold and beautiful”, was very supportive of their message of body confidence.

And the twinkly-eyed presenter agreed that it is more important to feel beautiful than to conform to narrow-minded beauty standards, dismissing online fat-shaming trolls as probably looking ‘like a sack of potatoes’ themselves.

But Phil felt obliged to point out the health risks involved in being a ‘plus size woman’ - and asked if their message might promote obesity.

He said: “There will be an impact on your health eventually.

“It can put a strain on your heart, it can lead to Type 2 diabetes…

“Isn’t it unhealthy that the message you are saying ‘yes we are happy’ we are confident’?

“There are other people who are trying to lose weight [who will say] ‘oh to hell with that.’”

And it seems as if his words rang true, as Melanie Cohen responded: “You’re completely right - I don’t agree with that side of it.”

However she added that she sees herself as a positive plus-size role model, as many of her followers have thanked her for helping them overcome diet obsessions, eating disorders, and poor self-esteem.

Opinions on social media were divided, with some viewers praising the women for their positive message of self-love, and others slamming them for celebrating their size.

What did you make of their message?

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