Netflix defended ‘Insatiable’ against fat-shaming accusations

Netflix

• Netflix executive Cindy Holland defended the upcoming
  original series, “Insatiable,” at the streamer’s Television
  Critics Association presentation.
• 
  “The creator [Lauren Gussis] felt very strongly
  about exploring these issues based on her own experiences, but
  satirically, in a very over the top way,” Holland
  said. 
  
• 
  The show, in which a high school girl wires her
  mouth shut to lose weight, has been accused of “fat-shaming”
  and promoting eating disorders.
  

Netflix defended its controversial upcoming original series,
“Insatiable,” which has been accused of “fat-shaming” in the
lead-up to its release.

At the streamer’s Television Critics Association presentation,
Netflix’s original series VP Cindy Holland addressed the
controversy, but stood behind the show.

“The creator [Lauren Gussis] felt very strongly about
exploring these issues based on her own experiences, but
satirically, in a very over the top way,” Holland said,
according to Deadline. “Ultimately, the message of the show
is that what is most important is you feel most
comfortable.”

She said the issue of “fat shaming is in the DNA of
the show.” 
However, Holland also said that it
was a topic that Netflix’s PR team could address better.

In the show, which is set to premiere on the streaming
service August 10, a high-school girl named Patty gets her mouth
wired shut so that she can lose weight, and then gets revenge on
the people who made fun of her. Many have criticized the show
based on its trailer, calling the show
“insulting” and even “harmful,” and accusing it of promoting
eating disorders.

An online petition for Netflix to not
release the show has over 200,000 signatures as of Monday
afternoon. 

The petition states: “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.”

Watch the full “Insatiable” trailer below: