Tess Holliday has responded to Piers Morgan’s open letter as he claimed that she is “suffering from morbid obesity.”
The journalist penned an open letter to the model where he compared Tess’ weight to being just as dangerous as an underweight model.
“The medical establishment gives that definition to anyone who is more than 100lbs overweight or has a BMI (Body Mass Index – the ratio of an individual’s height to his or her weight) of 40 or more. That’s YOU,” he wrote.
“Right now, I think you’re trapped in a hellish spiral of self-delusion in which your soaring fame and fortune is entirely dependent on you remaining morbidly obese,” Piers continued.
The letter sparked huge controversy as fans accused the 53-year-old of body shaming.
Piers tweeted a link to his open letter, along with an image of Tess posing on front of a mirror and wrote: “Stop lying to yourself Tess – you’re morbidly obese and it’s going to kill you. So wake up, shape up & be the brilliant role model you could REALLY be.”
*NEW COLUMN*
Stop lying to yourself Tess – you’re morbidly obese and it’s going to kill you. So wake up, shape up & be the brilliant role model you could REALLY be. https://t.co/Di3eZ8ckd9 pic.twitter.com/ew55CVcCWz— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 20, 2018
The 53-year-old previously tweeted an article about Tess’ body acceptance and wrote: “This is very sad. She badly needs better friends, who are going to be more honest with her & explain she is dangerously overweight & should do something about it.”
After the journalist’s tweets, Tess mocked him for his comments and claimed that he was just “obsessed” with her.
“The last 2 weeks you’ve been obsessed with me. Makes me feel like you’re almost into thicker girls & too afraid to admit it,” the 33-year-old wrote.
The last 2 weeks you’ve been obsessed with me. Makes me feel like you’re almost into thicker girls & too afraid to admit it ????????♀️???? https://t.co/uBSBHBA942
— Tess Holliday ???? (@Tess_Holliday) September 19, 2018
The Good Morning Britain presenter lashed back at the model as he responded: “I’m not ‘obsessed’ with you, I’m worried for you. You’re 5ft 3in & 300lbs, which as any doctor will confirm, is morbidly obese. To promote this as a positive body image to your millions of followers is dangerous, deluded nonsense. You need help, not praise.”
This isn’t the first time Piers has commented on Tess’ weight, as he previously slammed her cover on Cosmopolitan in August and described it as being “just as dangerous & misguided as celebrating size zero models.”
