Tess Holliday has started a petition to remove a giant billboard advertising appetite suppressor lollipops in New York landmark Times Square.
Following on from English presenter and actress Jameela Jamil despairing over the massive advert from Flat Tummy Co, a brand heavily endorsed by Kim Kardashian and Tori Spelling, plus-size model Tess, who is no stranger to speaking out about body issues and is proud of her curves, has decided to take action to get the “dangerous” ad taken down with a Change.org petition.
“Telling young women and girls to ignore or suppress their hunger is dangerous. Join the campaign calling for Flat Tummy Co. to take their billboard down immediately,” Tess wrote on Instagram next to an image of the billboard.
“Hunger is your body’s way of communicating when it needs food, which gives us energy, without which we cannot survive. There is something deeply wrong when marketers tell women that their appearance (based on sexist body standards) is more important than their health and survival.”
In the Times Square poster, a pretty model is seen sucking on two lollipops, with the blurb stating, “Got cravings? Girl, Tell Them To #SUCKIT”.
According to Flat Tummy Co’s website, the sweet treats are “only 35 calories per pop” and contain Satiereal, a saffron extract which suppresses appetite. Makers advise to “just have one whenever you start to feel hungry and it’ll help hold you over until your next meal”.
“As a fat woman, I can’t tell you the number of people who’ve told me that I should stop eating, or eat less. Or the number of people who’ve treated me terribly because of my size. We need to stop telling women and girls that they are only worth how skinny they are,” Tess implored.
“Messaging like this makes us more likely to start restrictive diets which too often lead to eating disorders. Diet culture is making us sick – and Flat Tummy Co. is profiting off it by selling us candy that’s not even FDA-approved.
“We’re saying enough. Sign the petition and demand that Flat Tummy Co. remove its billboard immediately.”
The Good Place actress Jameela previously slammed Kim and fell out with Azealia Banks over the lollipops.
