An Open Letter to Wendy Williams

Dear Wendy Williams,

How you doin'?

Let me preface this letter by saying that I really do like your show. I don't watch any talk shows, but when I get home in time to do so, I like to watch yours.

That's why I'm so regreful of having to write this letter.

Yesterday, I really feel that you went too far with your discussion of weight loss surgery and LapBand.  You said some things that I took offence to, and I wanted to point these out to you as a reference point for future use.

1.  LapBand and weight loss.  You made a comment that pretty much said that when someone had weight loss surgery that they should drop a ton of weight in a minute. That's NOT how the LapBand works.  The LapBand is a tool to help control the amount of food eaten to aid in weight loss.  People who have the RNY or Sleeve tend to have super quick weight loss.  The LapBand is designed to help people lose an average of 1.5-2lbs a week.  There is no guarantee that it will come off this quickly. Some of us still continue to struggle, even with a LapBand.

2.  You pointed out that Chris Christie has not lost any weight with his LapBand. I beg to differ.  If you look at the pictures you used to illustrate your point, I could see a significant difference in the body shape. Of course, fatties such as myself know where to look to see weight loss in other fatties. It's a gift. There aren't any official weight loss numbers released on his progress, but the pictures say enough.

3.  You joked that Ruben Stoddard should get TWO LapBands. Do you have any idea how stupid you sounded saying that? Don't get me wrong--I'm all about getting a laugh, but seriously? Not funny.

I understand that you have a talk show that is all about ratings and such, but before making comments about fat people and weight loss surgeries, maybe you should take a good long look at your audience. Not just the one in the studio, but the ones that actually watch your show and drive your ratings. I would assume that at least HALF of your viewing audience struggles with their weight or their body image. Not all of us have the money or resources to have tons of plastic surgery to 'fix' our bodies or our noses. Health insurance, for most people, will pay for weight loss surgery.

As a larger person with a LapBand, I would have been embarassed to have been a member of your studio audience. I would have felt ashamed of the choices that I have made in order to help me become heathier. And I'm sure that some of the larger members of your audience did experience some sort of embarassment of having weight called into a whole topic of discussion, or you left them questioning their choices to have any type of medical assistance to help with their weight loss.

So Wendy Williams, what do I do? Do I continue to watch your show, and hope that this was a one time indiscretion and that you will be better in the future? Or do I boycott your show going foward?

We all know that YOU are not a tiny little flower of a woman. You are big and tall, and you have a super sized reinforced chair and a ginormous couch. That's part of the reason that I like you, but if you refuse to see yourself in that light, then we might have a problem.

Sincerely,

Luka Beth