RFK Jr., West Virginia's governor and why you shouldn't comment on someone's weight
At the event, Kennedy didn't hold back from telling Morrisey to change his diet, too.
"The first time I saw him, I said, 'You look like you ate Governor Morrisey,'" Kennedy said during their joint appearance in Martinsburg, commenting on Morrisey's weight. "I am going to put him on a really rigorous regimen, and we're gonna put him on a carnivore diet."
"Raise your hand if you want Gov. Morrisey to do a public weigh-in once a month," he continued as the crowd applauded. "Then when he's lost 30 pounds, I'm going to come back to the state and do a celebration and a public weigh-in with him."
The comments were met with some harsh reactions online and were also dissected in several headlines that followed the event, with some decrying what they felt amounted to nothing more than fat shaming.
Morrisey took Kennedy's comments lightly, inviting the Health and Human Services Secretary to be his personal trainer. Later, he reaffirmed his commitment to health and weight loss with a post on X.
But body image experts say weight shaming doesn't only affect the intended target, and even well-intended comments on someone's body can do more harm than good.
Comments like Kennedy's can be seen as fat shaming, which experts say can lead to mental health issues like low self-esteem.
Online, people had mixed reactions.
'This isn't health policy, it's frat house bullying in a lab coat,' wrote one commenter. 'How do public weigh-ins fix structural health issues like poverty, food deserts, or underfunded healthcare? They don't. But they sure distract from real policy."
One RFK Jr. enthusiast added: "I really like RFK, and I think it's great that he wants to change the country and make it healthy again, but fat shaming people, regardless of the circumstances, not cool in my eyes … Do better RFK."
"This wasn't a fat shaming," another argued in RFK Jr.'s defense. "The governor himself began the event by talking about the need to be more healthy, challenging people in his state to walk a mile a day. He agreed to do the same. And jokingly (?) asked RFK to be his personal trainer. The 'weigh-in' stuff was a riff on that."
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Even if the governor wasn't outwardly bothered by the comments, body image experts say it's important for public figures to avoid statements like these.
Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar, regional medical director at the Eating Recovery Center, previously told USA TODAY that comments about someone's body don't just impact that person, but "every single person that lives in a body."
And anyone can struggle with negative body image, no matter their size, Alexis Conason, a clinical psychologist and author of 'The Diet-Free Revolution,' previously told USA TODAY. Because of this, she says it's best to avoid commenting on people's bodies.
"Your body is no one else's business, and if someone comments on your body, it's more a reflection of them," she said.
Wassenaar said commenting on someone's weight promotes the idea that someone's appearance is the most important thing about them: "It just reinforces that sort of superficial, body-focused idea that we know is so painful and harmful for every single one of us because we are so much more than this vessel that carries us."
If you or someone you know is struggling with body image or eating concerns, the National Eating Disorders Association's toll-free and confidential helpline is available by phone or text at 1-800-931-2237 or by click-to-chat message at nationaleatingdisorders.org/helpline. For 24/7 crisis situations, text "NEDA" to 741-741.
Contributing: Charles Trepany
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. fat shaming West Virginia's governor is a big deal. Here's why.
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