A SPANISH TV presenter is in the dock for allegedly fat shaming an American expat live on national television.
Toñi Moreno stirred up a storm on social media after her remarks on a recent episode of ‘Gente maravillosa’ on Canal Sur.
Moreno became a trending topic on Twitter for her comments to Bella, an American TikToker living in Seville, during the show.
In the episode, Moreno connected with Bella, who was invited to share her experiences of life in southern Spain, but was peppered with humiliating questions for the nation to see.
“Have you used a filter? Tell me the truth, you look much slimmer in the TikTok video,” Moreno asked.
“Or is it the lentils with chorizo? You’ve had a lot of portions,” she continued.
Bella graciously smiled and took the questions with humour at the time.
However, she later broke down in tears on her TikTok account, discussing the impact of Moreno’s words: “Behind every body, there’s a story. Commenting on someone else’s body isn’t funny.
“We don’t know what others are going through. I’ve struggled with depression and eating disorders all my life, and these comments hurt.”
The backlash was swift, with users on Twitter labelling Moreno as ‘fatphobic,’ among other harsh criticisms.
This public outcry led Moreno to issue a public apology to Bella on X, formerly Twitter, admitting that her joke was in poor taste and acknowledging that she was unaware of Bella’s sensitivities to the topic.
She stated: “I owe you an apology. It was a poor choice of words. I joke a lot and I went too far. I didn’t know this topic was so sensitive for you, Bella, and had I known, I would never have made that comment.”
However, the TV host was not all contrition, also rounding on the online ‘lynching’ she faced, which she said has taken a toll on her and her family.
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