TLC's new reality TV show, Hot and Heavy, which analyses so-called ''mixed weight' couples has gotten some serious backlash online.
According to the TV network, the series will focus on several men who love plus-size women, and chronicle their relationships with their obese girlfriends. The show will follow three couples: Joy and Chris, Kristin and Rusty, and Adrianna and Ricardo, over three one-hour-long episodes, and show how they each deal with judgment from others, as well as their skeptical friends and family.
Check out the trailer for the show in the video below:The men involved clearly want to talk about how much they love their partners. In the trailer for the show, Ricardo states: "We’re just two people that are different sizes and I don’t feel like there should be a stigma behind it."
However, when the trailer for the show was uploaded to social media, a lot of Twitter-users were left pretty dismayed by the premise, with some people claiming the show promotes prejudice against overweight people, and others thought that the network is guilty of celebrating an unhealthy lifestyle.
For instance, one person retweeted: "Excuse me TLC, this is not healthy. You should not be promoting it. Thank you," while someone else added: "What’s with TLC and morbidly obese people? I can understand My 600 lb Life because they actually want help but morbid obesity [is] not to be celebrated."
On the other hand, another person wrote: "Only showing couples where the woman is heavier aka TLC into enforcing societal beauty standards only on women, kinda sad stance to take into 2020 [sic]."
However, not everyone has been so negative about the show, with one Twitter user stating: "I’m not going to sit here and judge. Whatever makes your clock tick, it’s your life enjoy it."
The show will premiere on TLC on January 7, 2020.