Sometimes, the deluge of Facebook messages, emails, tweets and Instagram comments can become overwhelming. But Whitney Thore still sifts through them, trying her best to respond to every single one. It’s just part of the job as a reality TV star.
“It feels really nice, as someone who felt for so long like I didn’t want anyone to see me, and felt bad for my family and boyfriends to even be associated with me,” she says.
When Thore first signed to star in a reality TV show, she didn’t anticipate the responsibility that would come with it. But since “My Big Fat Fabulous Life” debuted on TLC in January, the 31-year-old has become an activist for body acceptance.
Thore entered the spotlight in 2014, when she uploaded a video to YouTube called “A Fat Girl Dancing.” She had given up on dancing, a lifelong passion, as she struggled with her weight, having gained more than a hundred pounds over the course of one year. The video went viral, and within a month she received an email from an executive at TLC asking if she’d consider her own TV show.
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“My Big Fat Fabulous Life,” which airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m., has blossomed into a feel-good glimpse into Thore’s life. The show explores how Thore lives her life differently because of her weight — like an episode in Season 1 in which Thore’s mother shaved the back of her legs because she couldn’t contort her body enough to reach them. Though she’s invited viewers into her life, she wasn’t expecting them to get so invested.
“People already went to find [my boyfriend] Lennie’s Facebook, and comment they don’t like his beard,” she says.
Fans have returned the favor, opening up to Thore about their own struggles. Thore says she receives messages every day from people with eating disorders and disabilities, and even people struggling with their gender and sexuality.
Share this articleShare“I realized that what we had in common is that we’d all been taught to feel ashamed,” she says, fighting back tears. “I would read their life stories, answer all those comments, and I was just really bogged down by it.”
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If there is anything that makes things easier, it’s the support her fans give to each other.
“If I can’t comment on something, there are 20 other people that will lift that person up,” she says. “And that inspires me so much. There’s really a community of people committed to pushing each other up, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.”
This post originally indicated the wrong date for the finale. It will air on Nov. 25.
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