Still battered and bruised after a hair advertisement that told some people the texture of their hair is only OK if it is sleek and fine, comes a clothing line owner and self-proclaimed health and fitness guru who bashes women who dare to carry extra weight.
If Donovan Tooth’s concern was for health and wellness, that message got lost amid his rants about overweight women. And his apology rings as hollow. The first was not even made in his personal capacity, but in the name of his clothing brand, Panda Clothing.
Tooth has since posted an apology on Facebook, where he acknowledged that many women have been hurt by his comments and “that the video was uncalled for, it was completely wrong and I should have never said those things”.
In the video, which went viral after he posted it on Instastories (Instagram) last week, Tooth has had many reeling over his rant, in which he said “overweight” women must not be accepted by society and should “hit the treadmill”.
He was not gentle.
“These overweight, chubby f****g women are getting posted up and are being told ‘curves are beautiful and curves are strong’.”
He was referencing two pictures showing two models — one thin, the other plus-size.
Of course, he then thought an apology would put a plaster on a deep cut.
What his intention was when he made that video is not clear. Was it the sight of one more person wearing too much weight and a pair of tights? Maybe it was a memory of some overweight person he sat close to on a full flight. Or a deep-seated fear that it could be him jiggling merrily in comfy elasticised pants?
We will probably never know, but what is clear is that an apology flows freely when there is a threat to one’s pocket. Just ask Clicks and every other business that ever had to do this walk of shame.
On Facebook, more than 1,000 people have since joined a group called “Donovan Tooth (Panda Clothing) must fall”, sharing pictures and stories about their struggles with self-image and being overweight.
Yip, hurting the pocket is threatening to hurt the man. Next time, spare a thought for those who were affected and hurt.
It should never be OK to attack someone for the way they look, where they come from or to feed your own insecurities. Saying sorry should not be a free pass to get out of the hurt and humiliation caused.
