'Grossed Out' Blogger Draws Ire For 'Fatties' Remark

Was it a Bad Move or Simply Exercising Right to Free Speech?

By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

In three days Marie Claire writer, Maura Kelly received more than 1,000 negative comments after she wrote about how she would be "grossed out" if she had to watch "two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other," referring to Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell, co-stars of the television sitcom "Mike & Molly."

The series, set in the Windy City, follows the lives of a policeman and a elementary school teacher who met at an Over eaters Anonymous group. Both are heavyset, Mike Biggs wants to lose weight and Molly Flynn is trying to embrace her curvaceous figure.

In addition to their struggle with their weight, the couple must deal with snide remarks and criticism from family members to co-workers and even the Senegalese waiter at Mike's favorite eatery.

Some say Kelly went too far in her Monday column. In the article titled, "Should 'fatties' get a room? (even on TV?)," Kelly spoke her piece, but drew sharp criticism from readers to hosts of "The View."

Here are excerpts of Kelly's article:

"I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other ... because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room — just like I'd find it distressing if I saw a very drunk person stumbling across a bar or a heroine addict slumping in a chair."

The Internet has been abuzz since the article was printed with many expressing anger at Kelly. Surprisingly, there were a few readers who felt she was simply voicing an opinion as a person and a writer.

"In a day and age when actors can say a**, Di**, show their naked A*** on TV, and we're okaying same sex marriages and other crazy things, how can we flip over a WRITER expressing her opinion," wrote one reader from Illinois.

"I think her words hurt the feelings of people with weight issues and that's where all this is coming from. I think she was just being honest," said another reader from Florida.

"If a writer posted their negative and critical thoughts about Blacks or other minorities, even though what they say may be true, every civil rights agency would be up in arms. Would that be exercising freedom of speech? Yes. Bit would we go for it? Heck no!," another reader from Maryland tweeted.

Feministe blogger, Jill wrote, "If Maura Kelly doesn’t like seeing fat people, perhaps she should get a room and not leave it."

Kelly has since issued an apology and added that her past issues with anorexia may be responsible for her "extreme reaction."

"I would really like to apologize for the insensitive things I've said in this post," said Kelly. "Believe it or not, I never wanted anyone to feel bullied or ashamed after reading this, and I sorely regret that it upset people so much. A lot of what I said was unnecessary. It wasn't productive, either."

Marie Claire editor-in-chief Joanna Coles, who said the magazine received more than 28,00 emails in response to the article, defended Kelly saying,"Maura Kelly is a very provocative blogger. She was an anorexic herself and this is a subject she feels very strongly about," Coles told Fashionista.com.

Associated Content reporter, Jolie du Pre stated that a question Coles posed to Kelly actually began the whole "fattie blog" drama because Kelly, instead of presenting her article as a "what say you readers" type question, turned it into an opinion and all Hell broke loose.

"Do you really think people feel uncomfortable when they see overweight people making out on television?," Coles allegedly asked Kelly.

"Instead of asking readers the same question and approaching the blog post objectively, Kelly made the mistake of inserting her personal opinion. In an age when bullying is front and center, inserting your personal opinions can be a huge mistake," said du Pre.

Any of you that have ever been flamed for simply voicing an opinion, and I don't mean a nasty, opinionated opinion, but courteously disagreeing with another person, know exactly what du Pre means.

These days you don't have to be rude or intentionally mean to invite hate mail to your inbox. Just voice an opposing thought and you'll sometimes get called everything but a child of God.

Quite a few people believed hat email would have found it's way to Kelly's inbox no matter how she expressed her opinion about overweight people. See although someone may know they're overweight, anorexic, immature, trifling or unhealthy, they don't necessarily want to hear it. Was this the case with the "Fattie Blog" or was Kelly simply exercising her right to speak freely?