Netflix's 'Insatiable' Critics Petition to Cancel Show for Fat-Shaming
Well, if Netflix wanted another hot-button show on their hands, they got one.
It's not quite "13 Reasons Why," but "Insatiable" has critics and defenders worked up on social media. The 13-episode series doesn't even premiere until August 10, but some non-fans are hoping it never premieres at all.
The official trailer came out on July 19, earning almost 2 million views and maybe as many comments.
Critics accuse the show of fat-shaming -- or thin-praising -- while defenders argue they are using humor to call out fat-shaming bullies. Other defenders are just going with "Don't like it? Don't watch it."
But some fans have taken to Change.org to petition Netflix to cancel the show. At this point, more than 125,000 people have signed. It's not quite the rehire James Gunn petition, but it's up there!
Here's the petition intro:
"For so long, the narrative has told women and young impressionable girls that in order to be popular, have friends, to be desirable for the male gaze, and to some extent be a worthy human...that we must be thin.
The toxicity of this series, is bigger than just this one particular series. This is not an isolated case, but part of a much larger problem that I can promise you every single woman has faced in her life, sitting somewhere on the scale of valuing their worth on their bodies, to be desirable objects for the male gaze. That is exactly what this series does. It perpetuates not only the toxicity of diet culture, but the objectification of women's bodies.
This series needs to be cancelled. The damage control of releasing this series will be far worse, insidious and sinister for teenage girls, than it will be damaging for Netflix in their loss of profit.
The release is set to be the 10th of August, we still have time to stop this series from being released, and causing a devastation of self-doubt in the minds of young girls who will think that to be happy and be worthy, they need to lose weight.
This series will cause eating disorders, and perpetuate the further objectification of women's bodies. The trailer has already triggered people with eating disorders. Let's stop this, and protect further damage.'"
"Insatiable" stars Debby Ryan as bullied "Fatty Patty," who turns thin and "hot" after having her jaw wired shut -- which may lead some girls to want to have their jaws wired shut.
(Side note: I had my jaw wired shut after jaw surgery when I was 18. I lost 10 pounds in one week but was so weak I could barely walk. When I could eat again, the weight just came right back. If you lose a lot of weight very quickly -- like Patty's weight -- you'll probably have loose skin and stretch marks. Not that that's bad, but it doesn't look like the show is interested in the realities of what would happen to your body.)
Debby Ryan responded to the controversy, as did co-star Alyssa Milano:
People are shallow -- not just teens -- and often do treat each other differently based on looks. But eff those people. If you're curious to see how Patty gets her revenge, watch the show August 10 on Netflix. Or feel free to blow it off and go feed your brain with books, documentaries, and other things that actually help make you an interesting and knowledgeable person.
Want more stuff like this? Like us on Facebook.