A Fan with James Corden

James Corden: A Clear Rejection of Bullying

In response to Bill Maher’s suggestion for more fat shaming, James Corden has a simple message. “Let’s be honest, fat-shaming is just bullying and bullying only makes the problem worse.”

Opening the Floodgates

Corden opened the floodgates with his 8-minute response to Maher. Already, his clip has more than a million views on YouTube – leaving Maher’s rant in the dust. Plus, it earned 38,000 likes and a flood of praise-filled tweets.

“Drop everything you’re doing and watch this,” tweeted journalist Yashar Ali. Another 1.4 million people promptly did. OAC Chair Michelle Vicari tweeted, “Loved you before, but I love you even more now.” Twitter exploded with tweets, re-tweets, and replies. People shared painful stories of bad experiences.

Celebrities piled on. For instance, The View’s Meghan McCain expressed gratitude on account of near constant shaming she’s experienced since puberty. It was a love fest for James Corden that keeps coming.

Overcoming Ignorance

This whole episode tells us that we can overcome ignorance about obesity. Maher proved it’s still out there. But the overwhelming response to it serves as evidence that people aren’t ready to let it slide anymore. As Corden said:

It’s proven that fat-shaming only does one thing. It makes people feel ashamed. And shame leads to depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior – self-destructive behavior like overeating.

We’ve had enough of bullies. They’re bad for us.

For more on this story, click here.

A Fan with James Corden, photograph © GabboT / flickr

Subscribe by email to follow the accumulating evidence and observations that shape our view of health, obesity, and policy.


 

September 15, 2019

2 Responses to “James Corden: A Clear Rejection of Bullying”

  1. September 16, 2019 at 5:03 pm, Allen Browne said:

    Corden rejects bullying but similar to the AAP he misses the point of the biology, physiology, and science and blames himself for his inability to control the disease. He needs to find an ABOM certified weight management provider and to go to the Blackburn Obesity Course.

    Bullying and shaming is more than bad for people, it is wrong.

  2. September 18, 2019 at 9:53 am, Janice McSherry said:

    Simply more proof that Bill Maher is a jerk.