Matt Gaetz’s Wife Declares ‘Fat Shaming Can Be Productive’ — and Uses Husband as Example

Fat-shaming may spark angst among those being shamed, but it could also lead to results, according to Matt Gaetz’s wife.

The former congressman’s spouse, Ginger Gaetz, made the endorsement as she shared two pictures of her husband in a suit on Tuesday, with the more recent photo showing the ex-Florida lawmaker smiling and looking noticeably thinner.

“Fat shaming can be productive and lead to a healthier lifestyle,” Ginger Gaetz posted on X, along with an emoji of a blonde woman doing a cartwheel.

She shared her two cents while sharing an X post from Bulwark reporter Sam Stein, who was commenting on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s speech to top commanders at Quantico earlier Tuesday.

“Hegseth called the general in to fat shame them,” Stein posted.

During Hegseth’s speech, during which he declared the U.S. military was done with “woke garbage” — he said it was “tiring” to see “fat” generals walking around, and will be implementing a new physical fitness plan.

“It’s a bad look,” Hegseth said about rotund generals. “It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”

But for Ginger Gaetz, a number of social media users voiced their support, saying they agreed with her stance.

“Worked for me too, the loudest voice was my wife’s,” one X user responded. “I told her that being formerly fat gave me the right to use ‘fatass’ whenever I please to anyone I please. I did the time, I get the benefit of being guilt free.”

Another user responded “fat shaming works,” and shared two pictures — one where he weighs 287 pounds on Election Day 2024 , and another recent picture where he weighs 170 pounds, he claimed. He credited HHS honcho Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for “working out at 70 looking jacked,” which he said “shamed” him. “Took all his diet advice & started KETO & walking. Shaming works,” the user added.

There were also plenty of users speculating that Gaetz’s weight loss was driven by Ozempic or cocaine use. And not everyone agreed that shaming works.

Jeff Nippard, a Canadian bodybuilder and fitness influencer, reposted Ginger Gaetz’s post and remarked, “It’s actually the opposite: fat shaming causes more weight gain, not weight loss.”

He then shared a 2014 study, led by researchers at University College London, that said fat shaming “exacerbates weight gain and promotes onset of obesity.”

—

The post Matt Gaetz’s Wife Declares ‘Fat Shaming Can Be Productive’ — and Uses Husband as Example first appeared on Mediaite.