On July 1st, Metro New York newspaper posted the following in their gossip section:

“J. Simp gave birth to an 8-pound vat of cookie dough yesterday. Hahaha just kidding, that was just a mean fat joke. (We kid, Jessica, we know you and Weight Watchers are working hard to get you back in shape.)”

“Know what’s grosser than watching Paula Deen slather her food with butter and grease? Watching Paula Deen slather her naked body with butter and grease.”

A couple of pages later was a great piece by Kim Schneiderman, MSW, LCSW in answer to a reader’s question about how she could feel good about herself while at the beach:

Yes, exercise and nutrition are important, but so is confidence. Imagine if we spent as much time loving instead of hating every inch of our bodies. What a happier, healthier world it would be. A friend of mine… has taken on a daily practice of standing in front of the mirror naked, regarding every ounce of fat with love and tenderness. ‘I want to love this,’ she’ll say, embracing her stomach. No wonder men find her irresistible.”

The article also contained information on eating disorders.

HUH?!! So I wrote the following letter which they actually printed. Although I wanted to call them a hypocrite, I refrained; the title was actually Metro’s idea:

Metro’s a big, fat hypocrite
Re: ‘Paula Deen: Porn star?’ (Metro, July 1)

“You printed some very fat-phobic comments by your “gossip” columnist, Alexandra Cavallo, regarding Paula Deen and Jessica Simpson.

A few pages later, there was a very thoughtful article about how one should love their body and not obsess over their weight.

How can you expect women to not succumb to the pressures of being thin when your newspaper participates in bashing those who are fat, including one who just had a baby?”

It may not be much and probably won’t keep the Metro gossip columnists from fat bashing in the future but maybe, just maybe it will make them think about bashing public figures about their weight.