Kim Kardashian West has been heavily criticised for promoting a dieting lollipop on Instagram.
“You guys… @flattummyco just dropped a new product. They’re Appetite Suppressant Lollipops and they’re literally unreal,” she wrote in the caption.
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“They’re giving the first 500 people on their website 15% OFF so if you want to get your hands on some… you need to do it quick! #suckit.”
The post provoked an outcry on social media, with followers pointing out that “appetite suppressants aren’t healthy and can send a particularly harmful message” to the “impressionable fans that watch Kardashian’s every move”, says InStyle magazine.
Actress Jameela Jamil, founder of the I Weigh social media campaign to end fat-shaming, was one of the first to criticise the 37-year-old reality TV star.
“No. Fuck off. No. You terrible and toxic influence on young girls,” she tweeted. “This family makes me feel actual despair over what women are reduced to.”
Jamil added: “MAYBE don’t take appetite suppressors and eat enough to fuel your BRAIN and work hard and be successful. And to play with your kids. And to have fun with your friends. And to have something to say about your life at the end, other than ‘I had a flat stomach.’”
Other Instagram users also criticised Kardashian.
As The Guardian’s Arwa Mahdawi notes, Kardashian “exerts immense influence”. Last week, the Council of Fashion Designers of America announced it was honouring the star with its first ever Influencer Award, “such is her ability to dictate taste and get people to buy things”, Mahdawi adds.
The lolly in the controversial image is made by Flat Tummy Co, which sells diet products, including the appetite suppressant lollipops, the BBC reports.
The company’s website says the lollipops are designed to be eaten when people experience food cravings.
But there is a disclaimer which says: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.”
The company has had social media adverts banned in the UK. In September last year, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ordered it to take down a post from Geordie Shore star Sophie Kasaei’s Instagram that advertised a slimming tea product.
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