Warning: Discussion of body-shaming and eating disorders.
David Foster is facing backlash after a video resurfaced where he calls his wife Katharine McPhee “fat.”
In the video, originally from January, the 16-time Grammy-winning record producer, composer, and music executive sat at a piano as American Idol alum Katharine told fans, “You may not know we met 17, almost 18 years ago when I was a little chubby and cheerful contestant on American Idol.”
Katharine was the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006. The pair met when David mentored the reality TV singing competition contestants.
“Oh, yeah. You were fat,” David responded while sitting at the piano.
Katharine responded in an attempt to poke fun at her husband’s comment, saying, “I was a little chubby, okay? I was just young.”
Users criticized David’s comments toward his wife when the video resurfaced on TikTok.
“This made my heart hurt. This beautiful girl was NEVER fat. You don’t call your wife fat. As a joke or serious,” one user wrote.
“Omg I cannot believe he said????” another user asked.
One user said, “It says a lot that she brought it up and it says even more he went along with it and commented on her weight.”
This user explained that, “Those comments are so hurtful. Hearing from anyone let alone your partner. No one should comment on anyone’s body ‘joking’ or not.”
“That was awful. If he can say that on stage what does he say at home?” another user asked.
And this user wrote, “This shouldn’t ever be encouraged or tolerated. David is a powerful public figure. He’s just allowing the continuance for men to pick apart other women and other women to pick on themselves.”
This isn’t the first time that David received backlash for his comments in this video. In February, the video went viral on the podcast Popapoligist’s Instagram page, and users had a lot to say then.
Users pointed out that his comments were particularly jarring since Katharine’s been open about her relationship with eating disorders.
“It just suddenly came up in a way that hadn’t been present in a long time,” Katharine said, referring to her past struggles. She added that she “felt really stable in my life in the last four or five years, and my weight has been more consistent.”
In 2006, Katherine talked to People about bulimia. “When I made it onto American Idol, I knew that food – my eating disorder – was the one thing really holding me back,” she says. “I was bingeing my whole life away for days at a time. So when I got on the show, I said, ‘You know what? I can do well in this competition. Let me give myself a chance and just get ahold of this thing.'”
Since Katharine’s been very open about her struggles with body image and eating disorders, it makes a lot of sense why fans would be distraught with the content of the resurfaced video.
Seriously, let’s just be mindful of how we talk about ourselves and others (even if you’re a husband joking around). Jeez!
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.