Netflix's Insatiable is not scheduled to hit Netflix until August 10 but thousands of people have already called for it to be axed by bosses at the streaming service. The show, a comedy in which a teenager takes revenge on her bullies after losing weight, has been accused of "fat-shaming" and promotes the "toxicity of diet culture."
At the time of writing the Change.org petition has garnered 131,000 signatures. A message written by the organizer of the petition states that Insatiable will "cause eating disorders, and perpetuate the further objectification of women's bodies."
“The toxicity of this series is bigger than just this one particular series,” Florence Given, who started the petition, wrote. “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.”
Members of Insatiable’s cast have defended the show online. Creator Lauren Gussis explained on Twitter that it was based on her own experiences as a teenager. Debby Ryan, who plays the lead role of Patty, also issued a statement.
Netflix has not yet commented on the backlash nor its plans for the series.