Over 120,000 people have signed a petition calling on Netflix to cancel its new series Insatiable which has been accused of being "body-shaming".
It stars Debby Ryan as leading character Patty, formerly known as "Fatty Patty", a high school student who lost a lot of weight after having her mouth wired shut after being punched in the face. She sets about wreaking revenge on the bullies who taunted her for being overweight.
The first trailer for the black comedy was released earlier this month and provoked a lot of criticism online.
The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil was among those to voice their opinion on the show, saying: "Not very into the premise of Fatty Patty... a teenager stops eating and loses weight and then when "conventionally attractive" takes revenge on her schoolmates? This is still telling kids to lose weight to "win." The fat shaming is inherent and pretty upsetting."
Not very into the premise of Fatty Patty... a teenager stops eating and loses weight and then when "conventionally attractive" takes revenge on her schoolmates? This is still telling kids to lose weight to "win." The fat shaming is inherent and pretty upsetting.
— Jameela Jamil (@jameelajamil) July 20, 2018
A Change.org petition has now been signed by over 120,000 people urging Netflix to cancel the release of the show, which had been slated for August 10.
Organiser Florence Given wrote in the petition: "For so long, the narrative has told women and young impressionable girls that in order to be popular, to have friends, to be desirable for the male gaze, and to some extent be a worthy human… that we must be thin.
"The toxicity of this series is bigger than just this one particular series. This is not an isolated case, but part of a much larger problem that I can promise you every single woman has faced in her life, sitting somewhere on the scale of valuing their worth on their bodies, to be desirable objects for the male gaze.
"That is exactly what this series does. It perpetuates not only the toxicity of diet culture but the objectification of women’s bodies."
She continued: "This series needs to be cancelled. The damage control of releasing this series will be far worse, insidious and sinister for teenage girls, than it will be damaging for Netflix in their loss of profit."
Leading star Debby Ryan defended Insatiable on social media, saying she "cares deeply" about how women's bodies are "shamed and policed in society".
— debbyryan (@DebbyRyan) July 21, 2018
"I was drawn to this show's willingness to go to real places about how difficult and scary it can be to move through a world in a body, whether you're being praised or criticised for its size, and what it feels like to pray to be ignored because it's easier than being seen", she wrote.
"I hope fans will wait and watch the show before passing judgement."
Alyssa Milano, who also stars in the series, addressed the controversy in a tweet, writing: "We are not shaming Patty.
"We are addressing (through comedy) the damage that occurs from fat shaming. I hope that clears it up."
Netflix has not yet responded to the petition.
