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Giuliana Rancic and Kelly Clarkson: Skinny Shaming Is Just as Bad as Fat Shaming

giuliana rancic
photos from Clarkson and Rancic official Instagram accounts.

Giuliana Rancic and Kelly Clarkson have both taken beatings for years from both the media and the general public regarding their bodies. There’s one big difference, though. When people do it to Clarkson, there’s backlash. Not so much when it’s Rancic.

The difference? One is critiqued for being overweight and the other for being underweight. The haters say Kelly’s too fat and Giuliana is too skinny.

Whenever there are mean comments about Clarkson’s weight, supporters rise to her defense. Blog posts are written about the dangers of fat shaming and how a person’s weight is no one else’s business.  A public apology might even be issued. Chris Wallace of Fox News issued one this week after saying the singer should “stay off the deep dish pizza for a while.”

But when Rancic is attacked? Crickets. Or more attacks.

Over and over, she’s accused of having an eating disorder, starving herself for fame and being a bad example for all of female kind. Her Twitter and Instagram feeds are full of people telling her she’s disgusting, calling her a skeleton and urging her to eat a cheeseburger.

Giuliana recently posted some shots of her and her 2-year-old son at the park on Instagram. They were met with disdain. The E! host gets the same treatment in photos of her all dolled up at red carpet events.

But there’s no loud outcry when comments are made about Giuliana’s weight like there is when Kelly is under fire. Why is fat shaming totally unacceptable, but skinny shaming isn’t as big of a deal? Do we not think skinny people have feelings?

I’m an overweight woman and I’m stepping up to say, “Leave Giuliana Rancic alone!” We all seem to know it’s rude, disrespectful and just plain mean to call attention to Kelly Clarkson’s weight. The rule should be applied to everyone – fat or skinny, famous or not.

Pointing out someone’s body size isn’t a newsflash to them. You aren’t helping. And if you think you are, you really need to examine yourself. Why do you feel the need to comment on someone’s body?

I’ve had people tell me I’m fat my whole life. Duh. Just like Kelly and I are aware of our body shape, so is Giuliana. She doesn’t need anyone to point out she’s thin.

It’s gotten to the point now that Rancic feels the need to divulge her personal information. The cancer suppression medication she takes causes weight loss, she says. She wants to gain weight and eats constantly. She feels unattractive and doesn’t like seeing herself so skinny. Giuliana Rancic says people tell her to eat burgers all the time, but “It’s not working.”

It’s heartbreaking to me that she’s been pushed to the point of publicly addressing her size. No one should have to do this. Not Clarkson, not Rancic, not me, not you, not anyone.

If you went to lunch and someone told your thin friend she really needed to order the double bacon cheeseburger, others would laugh at the joke. But if your overweight friend was told not to order a salad instead, it wouldn’t be funny at all. Shame is shame.

I had a well meaning friend take a piece of cake out of my hand at a party and throw it in the trash. She’d noticed I’d lost weight and I told her was exercising and watching what I ate. She disagreed with my decision to indulge in birthday cake and thought she was being helpful by literally taking it off my hands.

I was stunned. People quietly came up to me to see if I was okay and to comment on how they couldn’t believe that just happened. The consensus was taking cake from the fat chick was totally unacceptable.

Yet at another party, delivering food to a very thin guest’s plate was a big joke. People kept dropping off cupcakes, cheesecake bites and sandwiches at her place setting with comments like, “Eat up. You’re disappearing before our eyes.” She ended up leaving early. And people kept talking about her size well after she was gone.

Girls are committing suicide because they are being bullied about their bodies on social media. Kelly Clarkson and Giuliana Rancic are both the victims of bullying. Don’t fat shame. Don’t skinny shame. Bullying kills. Words matter.

Giuliana talks about her weight, cancer, infertility, scoliosis and climb to the top of the celebrity news game in her new memoir.  It’s a pretty entertaining read.

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