Ariana Grande

So you're suggesting no one has said anything nasty about her? The fact shes taking a break would indicate a different story.

I’m not suggesting CE is the cause of the problems, but I think she certainly added to them. Grande has clearly been troubled for a very long time. I find CE over-bearing and disingenuous, and I feel that she swooped in on a vulnerable person in quite a predatory way. The very performative over-protective stuff, like tackling the guy who jumped over the barrier at AG; and the strange, vague references to the 2 of them ‘exploring’ their relationship or whatever claptrap Erivo was pushing. I think she was very keen to link herself to an international pop star, and presumably there was a sexual attraction involved as well. If Erivo was a straight male, I think people would have viewed the whole thing with a raised eyebrow.

I’m a lesbian and have witnessed this sort of predatory, manipulative behaviour of vulnerable women in the LGBT community many times.

I do agree with the sentiment that it seems to be ok to say awful things about overweight people but whereas very underweight people it’s primary done with concern but no other eating disorder poses the same immediate risk to life as anorexia.
That is not my experience or the experience of a lot of slim people.
It only comes with concern when the person is deathly thin. If you are slim you have to put up with cheeky passive aggressive comments all the time, mainly from other women, they like to giggle and say you must eat like a bird, I’d love to be slim but not as slim as you, are you going to finish that meal. Men don’t like women with bones, the size of your arms they like twigs (they’re actually muscular), do you shop in the children’s department, that dress would fit my 10 year old, and so on.
I would feel the same compassion towards someone who was 600lb or 75lb.
Anyone around 110lb have to tolerate bs.

@BillieWiperI said overweight, why have you changed that to very overweight? And I was talking about impact on the body.

Atypical anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, orthorexia, obesity etc… are a longer term risk to health. So while the condition still needs treatment, the person is a whole less likely to die imminently.

Many people with eating disorders that aren’t causing an extremely low body weight will live a long life. It may not be a healthy life, it may cost the NHS a lot of money but it’s not the same as imminent risk to life.

I do agree with the sentiment that it seems to be ok to say awful things about overweight people but whereas very underweight people it’s primary done with concern but no other eating disorder poses the same immediate risk to life as anorexia.

Im talking physical symptoms not mental health here.

Anorexia is an eating disorder. You can actually be a healthy weight and still suffer from it. There are some eating disorders that make people overeat. So some of them get overweight.

So a very underweight and a very overweight person can both be suffering from a similar illness. Which is using food, or the lack of it, as a control mechanism or mechanism to express mental distress or illness.

All the news reports bring in money. Any show or film she's in attracts far more interest, reports, comments and revenue because of this. It's making a lot of people money for her to continue being told 'it's fine, look, see the number of hits your video is getting, look at these offers, they wouldn't be interested without this, they want the package as you are'.

It's a niche she has filled (ironically enough) through the eating disorder - the whole look relies upon her not getting better.

The only time it might stop is if it is no longer possible to get insurance and the offers stop coming in because of the cost that somebody dying mid run or mid filming can represent - because the money stops rolling in for the machine. That and if parents actually prevent their little children from seeing/buying/funding the massive income stream.

At least people openly saying it makes it more likely that she'll have no choice but to accept treatment because the others who make money out of her image won't want to lose that, whereas 'Don't be mean, bet you're 20 stone and jealous, how dare you comment, let's all pretend it's not happening for profit' is likely to end up with little girls putting flowers on a shrine somewhere and wishing they could look like her when they grow up.

i think she certainly has an ED but I imagine she is seeking help.

for some reason people seem to assume if you don’t return to a size 6 in 3 days you’re not getting help.

im sure she is getting help. She’s probably always had it. It’s not a quick recovery though, even with “help” she may never recover.

pretending she doesn’t have an ED is fucking mental though.

I think YABU, really, because it is clear as day to the world how unwell AG is. She is alarmingly unwell.

Had she gained weight rather than lost it, yes, people would assume that rectifying it was under her control but this is not the case, here.

So you can think it unreasonable but it's irrelevant, really. What is relevant is that she clearly needs to go away and have time to herself to heal.

I write this as someone with a thyroid disorder who has been told at different stages of life that I am too fat and too thin. When I was very thin was when I was most unwell (but thanks to an amazing endocrinologist, I got better).

Oh, puhleeease...
Social media discourse around AG and other extremely thin women has been awful.
It could be termed 'Ozempic Opprobium' as a lot of Insta threads refer to the 'Ozempic effect', then castigate the female, referencing how awful the women in question looks etc.

@CrypticCluelessits human nature to comment on people in the public eye though. And people do comment on famous men as well. Image is part of the currency for famous people so people will have opinions on it b

Are you sure it's the same people doing both?

AG has had an eating disorder for decades. Erivo was a healthy weight before they met. I’m wondering why you think the latter is the bad influence?

My child had anorexia. It's the most serious mental health disease with more deaths than any other. It's not really comparable with being overweight. I am concerned for Ariana, we didn't manage to get hold of tickets and I'm glad now. It would really upset me to see her as she is now. I think it's awful she's being made to perform when she's clearly very unwell. It's horrendous.

I don’t disagree with you, but it is the way of the world. I think everyone deserves humanity and the tabloids and people of social media forget that celebrities are just people.

But why should they? Why should it be?

IMO we demean ourselves by taking part in it.

'People' do not share a uni-mind

Is this individuals that you know, and can verify that the same people comment on both issues?
Or have you done a spreadsheet on MN users to verify that they are the same people ?

Public commentary on women , what they wear, what they look like, etc etc is ALL part of the problem, and far far worse for celebrities.

It's all intrusive, irrelevant to their talent, role or contribution, boring and misogynist.

I swerve any thread on MN picking over some women's appearance.

I feel nothing but sympathy for her, she is clearly struggling however, I think anyone famous opens themselves up to outside opinions it’s part of the job.

I agree to an extent that we will notice criticism of features we own more as it touches a nerve on a personal level. And I have noticed horrible comments the other side too, Gemma Collins is 1 that stands out as the most disgusting cruel comments I have seen regularly online.

But taking it out of the ever hateful online world and into real life situations where you expect people to conduct themselves better and it is definitely seem as more socially acceptable to comment on slimmer women. In the last office I was in I would often get 'you are too skinny, need to get some burgers down you', when i am eating 'it makes me sick watching you eat', when i am cold in winter 'it's because you are too skinny, need to get some meat on your bones'. The others all laugh. If i had flipped this and told them when they are hot 'it's because you are too big, need to loose some weight', or to eat more salads. No one would think that is a funny joke they can all share at the woman's expense. I would rightfully be pulled up in front of HR for making such comments. These wasn't even women you would think are horrible women, but they genuinely thought it was ok to make those comments and make me feel uncomfortable and self conscious

Seems jameela posting about it might have triggered something as she’s pulled out of a festival and is taking time off after her tour

As the Mother of daughters and a former ED sufferer, I am heartbroken that we are in another skinny era.

I feel the same way about attitudes having regressed on this front, when progress was being made.

There is way too much casual shaming of obesity in a way that we just couldn't shame other similar issues, and people seem unable to understand how those conversations impact on body image at the other end of the spectrum (not to mention on the people struggling with excess weight): all the shaming, revulsion and condescension only reinforces unhealthy attitudes.

And this is part of the problem, this attitude to body size is creating people who have real body dysmorphia about what a healthy body size is.

Yes I was thinking that. What an awful, awful thing to be “associated” with. Maybe it’s affected her more than we can know x

I don’t like commenting on women’s bodies but there is a difference between being visibly unwell with an eating disorder and obesity, which isn’t an immediate threat that people can see. Women are judged either way.

*rein, not reign.