TLC announced a new show that aims to highlight stories of couples in what it dubs “mixed-weight relationships.”
The two-minute-long trailer for Hot and Heavy, released on Tuesday, shows a woman saying, “My mom told me that it’d be difficult to find love if I was heavy.”
Another woman says she feels she “hit the jackpot” by finding her partner.
“I always had this idea that I didn’t deserve love because of what I looked like,” another woman says.
For these couples, love knows no size. See the highs and lows of their mixed-weight relationships on the series premiere of #HotandHeavy Tuesday, January 7 at 10/9c. pic.twitter.com/QAFh8AILj7
— TLC Network (@TLC) December 10, 2019
The trailer then shows the women’s partners, who all comment on how happy and attracted they are to the women.
“I wouldn’t mind if she was a little bit bigger,” a man says.
Another man exclaims that “every inch is a joy.”
“There’s a lot of inches to love,” he adds.
The show immediately received backlash on Twitter, with TLC being accused of fatphobia and fetishization.
“What tf is this, @TLC? Creating a show about fat people in relationships, as if it’s surprising that anyone would love a fat woman. And not to mention the slight air of fat fetishization, it’s gross,” Twitter user @SimoneMariposa wrote.
https://twitter.com/Artists_Ali/status/1204740582918238208
Trying to find the words to describe how exploitative and fat misic TLC is. There is an obsession with the way they portray fat people under the guise of “harmless entertainment showing real lives” and it borders on fetishization. https://t.co/IOS9DHrpFM
— Cosmo’s Aunty (@wittnsass) December 11, 2019
If there’s a worse idea for a reality TV show, I’d like to hear it. pic.twitter.com/7chIhIs90I
— David Hobby (@strobist) December 11, 2019
Hey @TLC, it’s 2020. Do better
— jacquelyn.goss (@jacquelynmgoss) December 12, 2019
https://twitter.com/AustroJensen/status/1204970746335752192?s=20
https://twitter.com/SimoneMariposa/status/1204892107351027713
Another criticized the comments the men made in the clip.
“‘I wouldn’t mind if she was a little bit bigger’ ehhhhh sounds like a fetish to me,” Twitter user @myabrianne_21 wrote.
https://twitter.com/myabrianne_21/status/1204486795305586689
Others pointed out how all of the couples shown in the preview are plus-size women with slim men, rather than the other way around.
“So… a show exclusively about ‘men who love plus-size women’ but not women who love plus-size men. Why not both ways, TLC?” Twitter user @GESSwrites questioned.
So…
— GESS (@GESSwrites) December 11, 2019
a show exclusively about
"men who love
plus-size women"
but not women who love
plus-size men.
Why not both ways, @TLC ? pic.twitter.com/Id62jgtQw1
So will there be a couple the other way around him big her not just curious? #hotandheavy
— Mercedes Bardales (@mommy1669) December 11, 2019
According to Deadline, Hot and Heavy is set to premiere in January. The series will comprise of three hour-long episodes, each showing a different couple’s story.
READ MORE:
- How to watch TLC online for free
- The internet is obliterating the Instagram bro who loves his curvy wife
- Curvy Wife Guy makes the most Curvy Wife Guy pregnancy announcement
- Plus-size model Tess Holliday boycotts Uber after driver allegedly fat-shamed her
H/T BuzzFeed