It all started when Adam Richman posted a picture on Instagram showing off his new bod. “Had ordered this suit from a Saville Row tailor over a year ago. Think I’m gonna need to take it in a little…” he wrote, and used the hashtag #thinspiration.

Uh-oh.

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Richman proceeded to get in a “nasty” fight on Instagram with user Amber Sarah (as well as others) over the use of “thinspiration.” In a reactionary piece on xoJane (originally published on Adipose Activist), Sarah explained,

“Thinspiration is very popular in pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia circles, generally consisting of pictures of emaciated bodies.”

Sarah writes that Richman “told a friend of [hers] to kill herself, told another to eat a bag of sh-t, and completely went on the attack.” When one of Sarah’s friends saw Adam’s Instagram post, she decided to try to explain the negative connotations of the word thinspiration.

Richman’s response to her friend: “DILLIGAF?” or “Do I Look Like I Give a Fuck?”. At this point, Richman obviously wasn’t thinking about his career, and he definitely wasn’t thinking about being a decent human being.

Maybe he was so hangry from his new diet plan he blacked out, went on Instagram, and decided to be an asshole? We can’t even begin to comprehend.

Instagram user @quadcitygirl took a screenshot of the comment, and explained to Richman, “The #thinspiration hashtag] glorifies negative media self-imagery that being thin is better as opposed to any other body style.”

The Washington Post provides a deeper look into how social media can lure young women to eating disorders.

“Experts say that social media are giving such terms as thigh gap and ‘orthorexia‘—a fixation on eating healthful food that can spark anxiety, and, paradoxically, malnutrition—an unprecedented following. When promulgated by social media, these terms ‘give people something to latch onto,’ says Claire Mysko, a consultant for the National Eating Disorders Association’s youth program. ‘The existence of social media really allows that kind of obsession to take on a new life.'”

Unsurprisingly, an onslaught of comments to Richman followed from people who were offended by the TV host’s use of the hashtag and his awful comments. Here’s one of Richman’s many crude responses to those comments.

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Photo: xoJane

Sarah fired back: “Maybe realize that you aren’t being ‘trolled,’ but that you upset actual human beings.” 

Richman’s spiral into defensiveness and crazy is absurd…

“Maybe you’ll acknowledge that just because someone is on TV, they are no less worthy of human kindness, respect, forgiveness or patience…Give me a fucking break,” Richman wrote in part. “If anyone acts like a cunt I’ll call them one. It’s not misogyny, it’s calling a spade a spade….if my use of the hashtag offended you, it was unintentional & for that I’m sorry.”

Richman’s other A+ comments include:

  • “Grab a razor blade and draw a bath. I doubt anyone will miss you.”
  • “Only fuckup it seems was your Dad’s choice to go without a condom.”

Finally, Richman tweeted an apology (which he’s since deleted).

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Half-apologetic tweet no. 2: “In real life, if you say stuff you regret in anger, you cool down, apologize & move on.If you’re a celeb on social media – it becomes a blog.”

Richman also apparently wrote an apology on Instagram, stating that he would never have used #thinspiration if he knew what it meant. This was also taken down. Finally, Richman released an apology to ABC’s Good Morning America. He said,

“I’ve long struggled with my body image and have worked very hard to achieve a healthy weight. I’m incredibly sorry to everyone I’ve hurt.”

In the case of Adam Richman, the Man vs. Food struggle goes way deeper than we ever could have imagined.

[via xoJane, Washington Post, Jezebel]