There was no easier grift in the late 2010s than being fat and loud about it.
That grift has run its course. The demise of “fat acceptance” can probably be attributed to a general fatigue with all things “woke,” and the rise of GLP-1s.
Enter: Gabriella Lascano, former “body positivity influencer.” Lascano, in an opinion video for The New York Times (NYT), claims she was “preaching a simple message: Love yourself at any size. Then, I risked it all.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Vast Majority Of Americans Support National MAHA-Backed Food Labeling, Poll Finds)
Lascano has 188,000 followers on YouTube. Her latest videos get thousands of views. Her most popular videos, now years old, received millions.
The thumbnails of these popular videos feature photos of Lascano, scantily clad. Titles include: “FAT GIRLS CANT WEAR BIKINIS!!! Try on HAUL,” and, “FABULOUS PLUS SIZE BOOHOO TRY ON HAUL.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 24: Gabriella Lascano attends the “M3GAN 2.0” New York City Premiere at AMC Lincoln Square 13 on June 24, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
“Seeing a community that welcomes you with open arms, and tells you there’s no pressure to look this way, to be this certain weight, I mean, does that not sound like paradise?” Lascano questions in the NYT video.
It sounds closer to hell to me.
“Then, over time, I got heavier and heavier.”
Lascano claims that her own weight gain, combined with the death of an obese friend (and fellow fat influencer), spurred her to change. (RELATED: GEORGE HARIZANOV: From Fat To Fit — Conservatives Must Lead The Fight For America’s Health)
“I’m only five feet tall, and at my heaviest, I was close to 400 pounds. I started to wonder if loving myself at any size had become an excuse to ignore how big I was getting.”
Yes, probably. I’m skeptical of the framing of “self-love” and “loving your body,” even when deployed as an argument for weight loss. Good on Lascano for waking up to her own delusions.
I’m not certain whether Lascano herself has used (or is using) a GLP-1. But the funniest effect of drugs like Ozempic has been to distinguish stated preference from revealed preference. Almost no one, including those who pretend being fat is beautiful or healthy, actually prefers being fat to being thin. It only took a magic shot to make them stop pretending they do.
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC
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