Magazine editor gets called out for fat-shaming: 'Why are you using 3 fat and out of shape women for your models?'
Curvy model Amelia Stubbs is speaking out after being reportedly fat-shamed by an L.A.-based magazine editor, who told an Australian tanning company to “stop spamming her” with their advertisement because it had featured Stubbs and two other plus-size women.
Jaide Hopwood of Royal Society Tanning tells Yahoo Lifestyle that she typically sends new followers a discount code and link to the company’s website via Instagram direct message. However, in the many times she’s done so, she’s never received a response like this.
“Why are you using three fat and out of shape women for your models?” an employee from L.A.’s the Place magazine responded to Hopwood’s message. “Please stop spamming me.”
After reading the harsh words, Hopwood decided not to act impulsively, but instead, waited to share it with Stubbs to get her opinion on how to handle it. “She was as outraged as I was, and suggested we post it to bring light to this issue,” Hopwood explains. Moments later, a screenshot of the direct message appeared on Stubbs’s page with a message against body-shaming.
A post shared by Amelia Stubbs (@curvyamelia) on Sep 2, 2018 at 4:36am PDT
“I am absolutely outraged by this disgusting comment by a person who is a ‘magazine editor’ — someone who has the ability to make a positive impact rather than a judgemental [sic] and totally inappropriate one,” Stubbs wrote. “Little does @lastheplace media know about our lives or health and this is exactly WHY I choose to be a curve model and refuse to accept behaviour and comments like this.”
However, editor Jane Emery from LA’s The Place magazine says that she agrees with Stubbs’s message, and claims the response that came from Emery’s own page was actually written by an intern.
“We want to apologize for this very unfortunate incident that took place on Instagram,” Emery explains. “We were using a new, inexperienced intern who just started working with us to handle the duties of Instagram for LA’s The Place. Unfortunately, she used terrible judgment and replied with a spiteful message to a spam DM. Her explanation was that she hates spammers. She has been let go.”
The editor provided further explanation for the mix-up, saying that the page included content associated both with the magazine and her personal life. For the safety of her friends and family featured on it, she deactivated the account and was unable to make a public apology.
“This does not reflect in any way the attitude of LA’s The Place,” Emery says. “We are and have always been supporters of women, and we deeply apologize to everyone that has been offended by this.”
Despite the apology, however, Hopwood says that Emery continues “threatening to sue” if screenshots of the direct message aren’t removed from Stubbs’s page. The influencer doesn’t seem to have plans to give in to that request.
“I’m not out to bring her down,” Hopwood shares with Yahoo Lifestyle, “but more to bring light to the situation and how people are still treated!”
Yahoo Lifestyle will live-stream theCURVYcon 2018 on Friday, Sept. 7, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bookmark this link to tune in!
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
? ‘Body shaming is for losers’: Fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni slams Italian newspaper for calling her friends ‘fat’
? Selena Gomez is back in a bikini after being body-shamed for swimsuit photos
? Size did not ‘dictate their accomplishments’: Why Gabourey Sidibe and WWE’s Nia Jax will headline theCURVYCon
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