# Dear Fat People
> Dear Fat People is a 2015 YouTube monologue by Canadian comedian Nicole Arbour arguing fat-shaming "is not a thing," becoming one of that year's most polarizing viral controversies.
"Dear Fat People" is a six-minute YouTube monologue posted by Canadian comedian Nicole Arbour on September 3, 2015, in which she openly criticized the fat acceptance movement and argued that fat-shaming "is not a thing"[1]. The video sparked massive backlash across YouTube, Facebook, and mainstream media, racking up over 20 million Facebook views and triggering dozens of response videos from prominent creators[6]. It became one of 2015's most polarizing viral moments, leading to Arbour's temporary channel suspension, her firing from a film project, and a broader public debate about body shaming online[3].
## Origin
On September 3, 2015, Nicole Arbour, a Canadian YouTuber with around 159,000 subscribers at the time, uploaded the video titled "Dear Fat People" to her YouTube channel[11]. The following day, she reposted it to her Facebook page[5]. Arbour was already known for provocative opinion-based content, having previously gone viral with a video called "Dear Instagram Models" that targeted women's social media self-expression[2]. The "Dear Fat People" video was, by her own later admission, part of a deliberate marketing strategy. "I made a marketing plan behind it, the same way that anyone makes marketing plans for anything," she told Cosmopolitan. "I kind of loaded the bases, like baseball"[9].
- **Platform:** YouTube
- **Creator:** Nicole Arbour (comedian/YouTuber)
- **Date:** 2015
## Overview
The video features Arbour speaking directly to camera in a rapid-fire comedic rant style, criticizing overweight people for what she characterized as making excuses for unhealthy lifestyles. She declared "fat-shaming is not a thing" and compared it to a "race card with no race," while mocking body positivity hashtags and telling an anecdote about sitting next to an obese passenger on a plane[4]. Arbour framed the video as comedy and concern-trolling under the guise of health advice, telling viewers "I'm not saying all this to be an asshole, I'm saying this because your friends should be saying it to you"[7].
## How It Spread
The video picked up speed fast. Within one week, it hit 1.3 million views on YouTube, while the Facebook repost blew past 20 million views with 194,000 likes and 133,000 shares[5]. On September 5, Whitney Way Thore, star of TLC's "My Big Fat Fabulous Life," posted a direct video response that itself drew over 11 million views[7]. "Fat-shaming is a thing. It's a really big thing, no pun intended," Thore said, noting that as someone with polycystic ovary syndrome, "you cannot tell a person's health, physical or otherwise, from looking at them"[1]. That same day, YouTuber boogie2988 posted a response arguing fat-shaming causes more harm than good[5].
On September 5-6, YouTube disabled Arbour's entire channel. Arbour immediately tweeted a screenshot of her disabled page with the caption "We broke the Internet… With comedy. #censorship" and claimed to be "the first comedian in the history of @YouTube to be #censored"[8]. YouTube later confirmed through a spokesperson that the suspension was a mistake and moved quickly to reinstate the channel[1]. By Monday morning, everything was back online.
The controversy drew responses from across the YouTube ecosystem. Philip DeFranco said he agreed with some of Arbour's points but accused her of expressing them "like an asshole"[5]. Tyler Oakley tweeted that "you are worthy of self love & inner peace no matter your size or shape"[3]. Grace Helbig said she was unexpectedly "triggered" by the video and called out Arbour for leveraging subscribers through negativity[11]. Shane Dawson weighed in with a tweet mocking Arbour's hair[5].
Major news outlets jumped on the story between September 6-10, including CNN, The Guardian, Salon, BuzzFeed, E! Online, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Time, and the Daily Mail[5].
## How to Use
"Dear Fat People" isn't a meme template in the traditional sense. It's a specific viral video that became a reference point and debate topic. People typically engage with it by:
1. Referencing the video's title or Arbour's quotes (especially "fat-shaming is not a thing") as shorthand for tone-deaf or harmful "tough love" arguments about weight
2. Creating response videos arguing for or against the video's points
3. Using screenshots or clips of Arbour in discussions about body shaming, YouTube controversy, or concern trolling
## Cultural Impact
The "Dear Fat People" controversy arrived at a turning point in online discourse about body image. By 2015, the body positivity movement had gained enough mainstream traction that Arbour's approach read as dated to many observers. West wrote that "even comedy has moved away from fat jokes that obvious" and called Arbour's rhetoric "positively 2009"[2]. Salon declared the video was "not satire in any way, shape, or form"[3].
The incident also highlighted tensions around YouTube's content moderation policies. The accidental channel suspension created a censorship narrative that played directly into the broader culture war over political correctness, even though YouTube's own spokesperson confirmed it was a mistake[1]. Arbour's framing of herself as a martyr anticipated a pattern that became increasingly common among controversial creators: using platform enforcement (real or perceived) as a marketing tool[8].
The professional fallout for Arbour was real but limited. Beyond the firing from "Don't Talk to Irene"[10], multiple celebrities spoke out against the video, including model Ashley Graham, who called Arbour's comments "disgusting"[10]. Chrissy Teigen and Margaret Cho also publicly criticized the video[9]. Despite Arbour's claims of incoming TV offers and brand deals, the attention-through-outrage model proved difficult to sustain, and she gradually faded from mainstream cultural conversation.
## Fun Facts
- Arbour disabled comments on the original YouTube video, tweeting "It doesn't mean I'm scared, it means that I don't give a f**k what u have 2 say"[1].
- The Facebook version of the video actually outperformed the YouTube original by a massive margin, pulling over 20 million views compared to YouTube's 1.3 million in the first week[5].
- Director Pat Mills said watching the video made him feel "like I had been punched in the gut" and that he was "shaking like Shelley Duvall in The Shining"[12].
- Arbour compared her own bravery to "Braveheart," a claim West mocked by adding "or the brave girl from Brave, or the weird old guy who used to come into my work when I was 17 and try to sell me pyramid scheme weight-loss pills"[2].
- Before posting "Dear Fat People," Arbour uploaded a video titled "Most Offensive Video EVER" the day after, which tackled race, childhood obesity, and violence as if to pre-empt the backlash[8].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Dear Fat People?
"Dear Fat People" is a six-minute YouTube video by Canadian comedian Nicole Arbour, posted September 3, 2015, in which she criticizes the fat acceptance movement and argues that fat-shaming "is not a thing"[1].
### Where did Dear Fat People come from?
It was created and uploaded by Nicole Arbour to her YouTube channel on September 3, 2015, then reposted to her Facebook page the following day where it gained over 20 million views[5].
### What does Dear Fat People mean?
The video's central argument is that fat-shaming is a made-up concept and that overweight people should be criticized rather than accepted. Critics widely described it as bullying disguised as comedy[3].
### How do you use Dear Fat People?
The video and its title are commonly referenced in debates about body shaming, concern trolling, and the boundaries of comedy. It's invoked as an example of harmful "tough love" rhetoric about weight[2].
### Is Dear Fat People still popular?
No. The video was a flashpoint of 2015 internet culture but has largely faded from active discussion. Arbour's broader career did not sustain the level of attention the controversy generated[9].
### Did Nicole Arbour's YouTube channel get shut down?
Yes, briefly. YouTube disabled her channel on September 5-6, 2015, but a YouTube spokesperson confirmed to CNN it was done by mistake and the channel was quickly reinstated[1].
### Was Nicole Arbour fired because of the video?
Yes. Director Pat Mills fired her as choreographer for the film "Don't Talk to Irene," a body-positive teen dance movie, saying the video was "unfunny and cruel" and made him "never want to see her again"[10].
### Did Nicole Arbour apologize for Dear Fat People?
No. She consistently refused to apologize, telling Time that the video was satire and that she was proud to have started a conversation about weight[11].
### Was Dear Fat People a planned marketing stunt?
Arbour later claimed it was, telling Cosmopolitan that she "made a marketing plan behind it" and that the video earned her "tens of thousands of dollars"[9].
### Who responded to Dear Fat People?
Multiple YouTubers posted responses, including Whitney Way Thore, boogie2988, Philip DeFranco, Grace Helbig, and Tyler Oakley. Celebrities like Ashley Graham, Chrissy Teigen, and Margaret Cho also spoke out[3][7].
### Does fat-shaming actually work?
Research suggests no. A study published in the journal Obesity found that people who experienced weight-based discrimination were actually more likely to gain weight[1].
## References
1. [Fat-shaming: Celebrities battle it out | CNN]()
2. [The 'Dear Fat People' video is tired, cruel and lazy – but I still fight for the woman who made it | Lindy West | The Guardian]()
3. ["Dear Fat People" isn't satire: Despite the backlash publicity, it's unlikely to make Nicole Arbour a star - Salon.com]()
4. [Dear Fat People - Know Your Meme]()
5. [List of Internet phenomena]()
6. [A Lot Of People Are Upset About A YouTuber's Fat-Shaming Video]()
7. [Nicole Arbour Faces Controversy With ''Dear Fat People'' Video]()
8. [Lifestyle Advice]()
9. [USA TODAY]()
10. [Nicole Arbour Claims 'Dear Fat People' Was a Pre-Planned Marketing Ploy]()
11. ['Dear Fat People' Video Sparks 'Fat-Shaming' Backlash (VIDEO)]()
12. [Nicole Arbour Fat Shaming Video ‘Dear Fat People’ Made Popular By Youtube Ban - Inquisitr News]()
13. [YouTube Star Nicole Arbour Fired After Fat-Shaming Video]()
14. [Fat-shaming: Celebrities battle it out | CNN]()
15. [Lifestyle Advice]()
16. [Nicole Arbour Dear Fat People Video | TIME]()
17. [UPROXX – Music Television and Culture]()
18. [YouTube Star Nicole Arbour Fired From Movie After Fat-Shaming Video | Us Weekly]()
19. [Nicole Arbour in Dear Fat People YouTube video is FIRED from her film job | Daily Mail Online]()
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