No one saw this controversial 'fat shaming' series coming back for season two

Here's how people changed their minds about Insatiable...

(Image credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Here's how people changed their minds about Insatiable...

There’s nothing that divides the internet more than a controversial Netflix release.

There was 13 Reasons Why, there was To The Bone, and then there was Insatiable.

Described by Netflix as a ‘dark, twisted revenge comedy’, Insatiable follows Paddy, a former tormented overweight teen who since losing weight has become a popular beauty queen, seeking violent revenge on her childhood bullies. Now it's back for season two.

The season one trailer was met by intense backlash, with the show accused of fat-shaming, perpetuating the dangerous message that in order to be popular you have to lose weight.

Jameela Jamil was one of the first on the case, taking to her Twitter page to voice her outrage.

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‘Not very into the premise of Fatty Patty,’ she tweeted. ‘A teenager stops eating and loses weight and then when “conventionally attractive” takes revenge on her schoolmates? This is still telling kids to lose weight to “win.” The fat shaming is inherent and pretty upsetting.’

The backlash got so loud in fact that a petition asking for the release of the Netflix show to be stopped was circling the internet, boasting over 100,000 signatures.

‘For so long, the narrative has told women and young impressionable girls that in order to be popular, have friends, to be desirable for the male gaze, and to some extent be a worthy human that we must be thin,’ the petition bio read.

It continued: 'We still have time to stop this series from being released, and causing a devastation of self-doubt in the minds of young girls who will think that to be happy and be worthy, they need to lose weight. This series will cause eating disorders, and perpetuate the further objectification of women's bodies.’

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Debby Ryan, who plays the lead role of Paddy, spoke out about the backlash at the time, defending its intentions and asking viewers to watch the show before making their judgements.

‘Over the last few days I've seen how many voices are protective and fiercely outspoken about the themes that come to play in this story,’ she posted. ‘I was drawn to this show's willingness to go to real places about how difficult and scary it can be to move through a world in a body, whether you're being praised or criticised for its size, and what it feels like to pray to be ignored because it's easier than being seen.’

Fast-forward a year and Insatiable is back for season two, with viewers coming around to the idea - ‘it does describe itself as a dark, twisted revenge comedy after all’.

'We're back, bitches', the show captioned their IGTV of the season two trailer, which seemingly has been tailored for less backlash, with the most memorable line from Paddy being 'It doesn't matter what I look like - my life is a total mess'.

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Viewers were seemingly impressed, commenting in their thousands that they were 'hyped' and had 'been waiting so long'.

'This actually looks like it’s gonna be better than the first,' another posted, with some viewers referring back to the past backlash and how far the show has come.

'The show, based on the description and season 1 trailer, yes, looked like it fatshamed,' one viewer commented on the season two trailer. 'However, if you actually watched more than like 2 episodes, you quickly saw it actually taught not only about accepting yourself for who you are, but also that just because you change who you are on the outside, it doesn't change who you are on the inside.'

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Jenny Proudfoot
Features Editor

Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. She has worked at Marie Claire UK for seven years, rising from intern to Features Editor and is now the most published Marie Claire writer of all time. She was made a 30 under 30 award-winner last year and named a rising star in journalism by the Professional Publishers Association.