Bill Maher Bashes ‘Fat Acceptance’ Movement Saying It’s a ‘Disturbing Trend’

During HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, the comedian discussed America’s obesity epidemic, slamming the promotion of “fat acceptance” and “fat celebration,” in today’s culture.

“There is a disturbing trend going on in America these days,” Maher began. He expressed the epidemic as “rewriting science to fit ideology to just fit what you want reality to be,” and that Americans’ views on obesity contribute to the trend.

“We’ve gone from fat acceptance to fat celebration. That’s new. That is new,” Maher said. “To view letting yourself go as a point of pride? We used to at least try and be fit and healthy and society praised those who succeeded.”

“Now the term body positivity is used to mean, ‘I’m perfect the way I am because I’m me,’” he continued. “It’s Orwellian how often positivity is used to describe what’s not healthy!” 

“Let me ask you this: Have you ever seen a fat 90-year-old?” he asked the crowd. “It’s scary!”

He claimed that the idea of being “healthy at any weight is an unchallenged lie that people tell themselves so they can go on eating whatever they want.”

“You can make believe you’re fighting some great social justice battle for a besieged minority, but what you’re really doing is enabling addicts – which I thought we decided was bad,” he said in regards to supporters of “fat acceptance.”

“At some point acceptance becomes enabling, and if you’re in any way participating in this joyful celebration of gluttony that goes on now, you have blood on your hands,” he stated.

He also went on to talk about the health risks tied with obesity and how it makes American life difficult. He also mentioned how the military is finding it difficult to find in-shape recruits and obesity increased the COVID-19 death toll.

He also took it a step further, calling out companies who promote health now buying into the trend. “Companies like Nike, Sports Illustrated, Victoria’s Secret, companies that are specifically about fitness, nevertheless promote people who are plainly not into fitness,” Maher said.