A comedian has garnered backlash for wearing a fat suit in multiple viral skits.
Early this month, the comedian Norman Freeman posted videos of their character Obese Betty, which Freeman performs while in a fat suit.
One of the videos shows Freeman struggling to get the fat suit into a pair of pants, another shows the character eating, and a third clip shows them drinking alcohol. All three of the videos went viral—one almost has 5 million views—but Freeman’s use of a fat suit has resulted in backlash for the comedian.
Freeman did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s request for comment.
@normanfreeman_ ♬ original sound – NormanFreeman
In a TikTok posted last week, plus-sized fashion influencer Muinat Abdul says that she “can’t believe people are still making jokes like this about fat bodies.”
“Was the fat suit really necessary?” Abdul says in her TikTok. “What year is this?”
While Abdul received some comments telling her that she should “lighten up,” others said they agreed that Freeman’s video was hurtful.
“To the people saying that it’s only a joke, it’s not the 00’s any more,” @themindsetnutritionist commented. “We are progressing as we should. Maybe move with the times.”
“When ppl run outta funny. They hop to fatphobia, homophobia, etc,” @akabigtwen wrote.
Another TikToker, Bow Telphy (@omnimakeup), posted a video about Freeman’s use of a fat suit. She says that she doesn’t like Freeman’s Obese Betty character.
“It’s not funny comedy, sorry not sorry,” Telphy says in her TikTok. “It’s lazy, it’s cheap, it’s out of touch.”
Telphy goes on to say that comedy in a fat suit “doesn’t need to be done” because “the fat is supposed to be the funny part.”
“It’s disappointing,” Telphy says. She also shares that she unfollowed Freeman after seeing the Obese Betty character.
A commenter on Telphy’s video said they were happy that she spoke up about Freeman.
“I’m so glad I’m not the only one who felt like this,” @beebeebun wrote.
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Source: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/norman-freeman-fat-suit/