Going Supernova

Dear Mrs. Jones-Reynolds,

Just when I thought you couldn’t shock me any more…you go and do it.

After my last letter to you, I didn’t think I’d have cause to communicate. You shed your poundage and The View fame, I parted from you a disappointed fan. Frankly, I thought you were at 14:59 in the fame department and would forever languish on Court TV melding together a career as a suit and talking head.

I should have known better…right?

Today, I read that you’re headlining the latest issue of Glamour. In an exclusive and heart-wrenching article, you let it all out. You empty the demons out of your soul and are ready to speak the truth. The climax of it all being that you tell us how you lost 160 lbs.

Your secret: Gastric Bypass Surgery.

Thank you Captain Obvious and Transparent Truth Brigade! I think we could see that coming from across the universe. Basically, you just admitted what everyone else knew all along. If I seem a bit underwhelmed at this bit of news, I am. Good for you! You finally got it off your chest. Hoo-rah for Star Jones-Reynolds!

But that does not mean that I still don’t have a bone to pick with you, counselor.

I read your interview/confessional piece with Glamour. While your tale is one of self-discovery and mirrors many a woman’s story – something bugs me about it. I commend you for being honest with yourself and facing insecurities, problems, and double-standards women of size (formerly or current) wrestle with on a daily basis in such a public manner. You are obviously on your way to becoming a happier person. If more women understood themselves earlier, I think a lot of the self-doubting problems go away.

I’m not mad at you for taking the surgical route. Weight and health are hard battles…it’s easy just to say “Screw it all! Band up my stomach!” And I fall right in step with you when you talk about the side-long glances and the unsaid “fat girl” remarks when someone compliments your face or your personality instead of the way you look.

Oh no…what really gets me is that you offer reason after reason after reason for keeping it private (It was the “only truth I could handle at the time” and “I was afraid to be vulnerable, and ashamed at not being able to get myself under control without this procedure…”), but you don’t address two very important issues.

Do you know what kind of message you sent when you tried to convince the world that you lost all that weight with diet and exercise? Whether you wanted to or not, you set yourself up to be this model of doing things “the right way.” While most of us saw through that, I’m sure there are countless women who desperately wanted to believe. Little did they know you said it because you were sick of the rumors, but were not yet strong enough to admit the truth. You gave false hope to many women out there who decide to legitimately bust their asses trying to slim down because if Star can do it…so can I!

SHAME ON YOU! While you were dropping dress sizes, these sisters in size were banging their heads into the wall wondering why they weren’t experiencing the same results.

And then there’s the fact that you seemingly loving your full-figured self! You constantly tell us in the article that you were kidding yourself. You told yourself you were PHAT and not FAT. At one point you say, “I could clearly remember the days when I’d considered myself fly and curvaceous. Funny – or sad – how we ‘thick’ girls can justify being excessively overweight...”

Are you saying that those of us who have come to terms with our weight (and mind you, trying to keep a healthy lifestyle) are lying to ourselves? I’m a size 24…I have been for the last 10 years of my life. I make no excuses for the fact that I could have kept this weight off when I was younger – BUT I REFUSE TO NOT LOOK AND FEEL MY BEST AT THIS SIZE! I work hard, I play hard, and I live big.

Your words make me feel like you’ve taken sides. It’s like you’re saying that all the chubby girls are kidding themselves, how do you know? Because you USED TO be one of us. Now with your new thin body, we’re no longer strong, beautiful women who love what God gave them, but delusional harpies who need to see the light.

And to think – I used to use you as a role model for the teenage girls I work with.

Again, I’m glad you’re coming to terms with your lifestyle choice. But I can’t say that I can respect as I once did. Your denial of your surgery sent the wrong message to a gender that gets judged on their looks first, minds last. You missed an opportunity to be a positive, redeeming role model.

Just like every other star in celebrity – you went all supernova on us and sold out.

But at least you’re skinny, right?

Regards,

Lily White
Bitter Former Fan