Fox News calls Adele fat, her response more newsworthy

Surprisingly, the dress is not Chanel

About a year ago, Karl Lagerfeld was blasted for calling Adele fat. In a conversation about pop stars he said “the thing at the moment is Adele. She is a little too fat, but she has a beautiful face.” The outcry after this comment should’ve served as a warning but Fox news didn’t seem to care (or they were hoping for a controversy of their own). The day after this year’s Grammy Awards they ran a five-minute “news” segment with a nutritionist about Adele and Kelly Clarkson’s weight.

I understand a discussion about celebrities or other public figures and weight. I recently wrote about Governor Chris Christy and whether weight should affect his potential presidential run. And I have posted about Kelly Clarkson as her songs and quotes have given the virtual middle finger to critics and their comments. What I don’t have any patience for are unfounded assumptions about people based on their weight.

The Fox segment’s nutritionist Keren Gilbert mentioned “if these women walked into my office and said they wanted to lose weight I wouldn’t kick them out.” First, the difference, as we discussed last week, is that these women as far as I know have not walked into Ms Gilbert’s Great Neck office. And if Adele did seek out a nutritionist, she may wish to discuss postnatal nutrition (helloooo). Ms. Gilbert then pointed her skinny finger saying “we’re a nation of excuses” their weight sends message “I don’t need to address these issues; I could be overweight like her.” I could dissect these comments all day long but Adele’s commentary is much more profound and definitely classier than anything I could say.

I recalled an interview Anderson Cooper did for 60 Minutes with Adele last year. I was so impressed with her as she offered the most sincere responses to tough, personal questions. She said she never looked at magazines and thought “I have to look like her to be a success”.  She also mentioned, as advice for young girls “if you want to change something about yourself, learn to appreciate yourself first.” She wasn’t standing on a soapbox for loving yourself no matter what. Rather, she said it’s ok if you want to make changes but the key, something Adele seems to have in spades, is caring for yourself.

How do we imbue young girls with that? Or adult women for that matter? How do you become immune to all the "body" stuff surrounding you?

And there’s more, Adele also takes on the issue of sexiness. She has said even if she had a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit figure, she would still wear "elegant clothing". In another magazine she was quoted saying, “'I don't want to be some skinny mini with my t*** out. I really don't want to do it and I don't want people confusing what it is that I'm about. “ In a time where JLo’s dress is slit up to her cha cha (sexy or slutty?) and Kate Upton is pretty much topless (in Antarctica!) on the cover of SI, isn’t modesty the most refreshing message of all?

And because I couldn’t resist, the expert in the Fox segment has this photo on her website? I wonder what she’s offering in that nutrition office she mentioned.

Does this photo say "let's talk about fiber?" Um no.

Do you think being in the public eye automatically makes you a role model? Do you think, as Fox suggested, overweight celebrities give others excuses to remain overweight? Would you feel differently if it were a rail thin pop star? Would to go to a health professional where "sexy" is part of their appeal? What is your favorite Adele song?

I love this song so much, Adele the pop world needs more "Someones Like You". 

Do We Know if Kelly Clarkson is Proud in Her Own Skin?

Curvy and Proud? Or just curvy?

We have The New York Times delivered on the weekends. Sure, we could use the Ipad or Kindle but the Sunday paper needs to be the real, paper, deal.  Growing up, my parents slept late on Sundays (in retrospect that sounds impossible) and I remember going to the front door and grabbing the thick newspaper.  Before you think I was an impressively intellectual child sitting down with the New York Times, I’ll have you know I read and still do read the Style section first. A couple of weekends ago an article in Sunday Styles on Kelly Clarkson and its title “A Pop Star Proud in Her Own Skin” caught my eye. The article profiles the singer, discussing her persona, new album and recent VH1 unplugged performance that premieres this Friday, November 18th.

In the piece Kelly is portrayed as relatable and not afraid to speak her mind. I have a few Kelly Clarkson songs on running playlists but no not know that much about her.  She has released a new album called Stronger.  I watched the video for one track "Mr. Know it All". Kelly sings in front of a wall covered in headlines about her weight, image and sexual orientation. At one point Kelly also appears to scan blog comments about her (uh oh).  At the end she makes a hole in this wall, destroying the criticism and leaving it behind. The Times quotes another song “if you’re thin/Poor little walking disease/If you’re not/They’re all screaming obese.” From this I gather Kelly isn’t ignoring the growing elephant in the room, she’s talking about issues in in an honest, somewhat rebellious manner.

However, is she comfortable or “fed” up? They said Jennifer Hudson “comfortable” then she lost weight. Do they expect those who gain weight to be publically sad or embarrassed and if they’re not we assume they are content?  The article says Taylor swift isn’t the girl next door because she’s blonde and tall but Kelly is the girl next-door “for any woman to own her body size at an average woman’s weight is amazing”.  Perhaps this requires further research but just because Kelly is average-sized what constitutes “owning” your weight? Or does Kelly's average weight simply help others own theirs? Later in the article Kelly is quoted joking about spanx and her “giant” backside. Self-deprecating comments don’t lead me to believe she is proud, annoyed and open maybe. Talking back doesn’t mean you embrace your back fat.

Do you think outspoken implies confidence or body confidence? And self-deprecating comments, when you talk about your weight, are you “owning” it? Are you a Kelly Clarkson fan?