If You Have A Crush On Alton Brown, Avert Your Eyes
Weetabix: how are the Action Items coming along?
me: pretty good, I think
I need to write a BFD post for tomorrow
Weetabix: do you have an idea for the BFD post?
me: maybe “Alton Brown sucks”
Weetabix: does he?
I have a crush on him
me: oh, then I hate to tell you this…
Weetabix: does he hate fat people?
oh no
tell me
I’m cringing
me: Per Jane, he “was answering questions here and when he was asked what he was passionate about, he responded: ‘I’m passionate about this country getting off its fat butt and getting into shape. I see a lot of very heavy people at my demos and book signings and I don’t like that. They come up and they’re so nice and they say ‘gosh we love food and love your show’ and I want to say ‘I think you might lay off both and go for a walk’. I’ve never actually said this because it would be mean but it really worries me.'”
Weetabix: WOW
me: yeah
Weetabix: because fat people? We don’t walk. ANYWHERE!
Unless it’s to get food.
maybe a piece of chocolate cake tied to a stick is the answer
me: that might be the answer to a lot of things
Weetabix: ok, so there went my whole Alton Brown’s Spiky Hair Giving My Boobs a Rash fantasy
me: ha!
I’m very sorry. That’s a good fantasy.
Weetabix: It is.
Posted by mo pie
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All I have is a big NOOOOOOOOO!!! I now have a fantasy of Paula Deen and Ina Garten kicking his ass. And it’s not like he was eating so healthy on his “Feasting On Asphalt” tours.
Oh well, the food dork in me will always love him.
Okay, if Alton wants to stop dissing on fat people, he needs to stop showing us how to make grilled cheese sandwiches, corn dogs and ganache.
I still do love him. He’s like the Mr. Wizard of cooking!
Jodi said: ” i know there are people that have medical problems and emotional issues, but there are also a lot of people who are just darn lazy! just being honest… :o)”
It’s true. There are a lot of darn lazy people out there. As a nation (talking about the USA here, as that’s where I live), the vast majority of us would benefit from less time spent on our asses in front of desks and computer screens, and more time on a bike, in pool, on a hiking trail, etc.
The thing is, though, “lazy” and “sedentary” and “unhealthy” are not synonyms or necessarily correlated to “fat.” There are a lot of brown-haired people in my office. Thin ones. Most spend a minimum of 10 hours/day at a desk, and do jack shit for exercise. A good many enjoy cooking in their scarce downtime. We have trouble fielding a decent team for the annual 5k. Maybe Alton Brown should start railing on brunettes — tell them to lay off and go for a run, before high blood pressure, atherosclerosis and diabetes take them down.
I’ve never watched Alton Brown or any of these cooking shows. But if he’s pretty chubby himself, maybe he needs to lay off his own food and go for a walk.
While it is assy, some context makes it ever so slightly less assy. I believe he made those comments shortly after having a minor heart attack, so there was a brief time he was kind of a health nut, in a crazy fat-phobic sense. I think he’s mostly gotten over it now. I know it has been a couple years since he said that, so I’m willing to believe it was a one-time stupidness. Because I luffs him.
I’ve never liked Alton Brown-I’ve always thought he’s a pompous, sanctimonious arse who manages to take the fun out of everything (Cooking is FUN! It shouldn’t take me 24 hours to make cupcakes!) with his ‘I know everything and I am better than you!’ attitude. This is just another reason for me to dislike him.
Ummmm…Sarah? I really don’t understand your need to throw in a personal remark towards me without any relevance to my original comment anytime I make an appearance. I understand you are a deeply unhappy person and enjoy focusing on me as the cause of all your problems, but why don’t you and I just ignore each other here, m’kay? Thanks, have a great day.
This also makes me sad… and it hits home because my husband and I went to one of his appearances two years ago, and were able to meet him afterwards. We still have the picture that was taken of the 3 of us together. I’ve always found his show entertaining and his recipies delish, and the hubby LOVES how he illustrates the science behind cooking. However I don’t think we’ll be watching his show anymore after this, and all those DVDs, books, even the friggin’ salt cellar may get trashed after this. It’s disappointing that he would insult the very people who probably keep him on the air.
Am I allowed to say the F word here? Because I’m fucking crushed. Alton Brown has been my idol for a long time now. Oh god, Alton – why, like every other Hollywood halfwit and comedian (who just can’t STFU about politics or other things they know nothing about) why, oh why, did you have to say that? I actually want to cry.
So, I’m going out to the lunch truck, buy some food, and have a cigarette instead. Hey, at least I have to walk a fair distance to get there. :(
Harveypenguin? I hope you are right. If so, maybe I can love him again.
(Not that it makes it any less of a pissy thing to have said, though…) It’s from 2004, here’s the link: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=43847 I’m hoping that there’s some possibility that, like so many of us, he’s more recently “seen the light” in terms of health at every size and has been influenced by a lot of the interesting scientific studies that might disprove his “rant.” So sad, because I love(d?) Alton Brown!
I am hoping very much that his respect for science has led him to recognize that his premises were all wrong. In 2004, I certainly knew little to nothing about actual, non-diet-company-sponsored research relating to weight and exercise and obesity. And I love his recipes and his shows and his enthusiasm for food.
That having been said? It was a dickish thing to say, no matter what the state of his knowledge was at the time. I was casting about for excuses, because I’ve always liked him, and I got as far as “well, in 2004, I didn’t know very much, and I… I…no, I still would never have said any such thing.” It’s not that he was wrong; it was mean.
And yet, I’m going to keep making his sweet-potato waffles. Because they are very, very good.
“It’s not that he was wrong; it was mean.”
I completely agree, SP! Talking it over with my husband, we both kept saying the same thing about what he said: it was mean.
Fillyjonk, I know! I LOVE(d?) Alton Brown myself :( Alton! Did you think a lot of your lovers weren’t fat? The rest of the country is in obsessive DIETING mode!!!! We aren’t! THAT is why we love you! We love food too, unlike people who make desserts from rice cakes, splenda, and fat-free Cool Whip! Come back to us, Alton! Please tell me you’ve come back to us!
Why is this guy being vilified? Because he notices the morbidly obese fans that approach him? It worries him. As well it should. This country is eating itself to death.
I am completely disgusted that Alton Brown not only has such ignorant and judgmental thoughts in his head, but that he freely shared them for all his fans–the very people who have made him successful–to see. All his FAT fans, at that. Perhaps Mr. Brown thinks that fat people are unable to read due to the burden of their flubby eyelids?
Certain people immediately become defensive when overweight people point to medical reasons they are, or have been, overweight. I have had the same experience as OpenBothEyes– finally I was properly diagnosed with having a largely useless thyroid, and since being on Synthroid I’ve lost 25 pounds in five months with very few changes to how and what I eat. It functions, in essence, as a “magic pill” which corrects my body chemistry. Why is this so threatening to fat-phobes who insist that someone with a thyroid problem is “playing the victim” (an accusation they love to bandy about)? Oh, because I should be made to pay for the horrifying character defect of being overweight! I should eat meager meals, take no pleasure from food, and work myself silly on a hamster wheel. Yeah, I’ll pass.
Alton Brown doesn’t get to have it both ways. His audience is welcome to enjoy his food and throw handfuls of cash his way, but these people are only worthy of his appreciation if they come in a tidy little physical package? What a crock of steaming bullshit. I thought Alton had more class than to slap his fans in their collective face, but apparently not. We really must make our voices heard. This kind of bigotry is stale and should not be tolerated.
Michael, why does it matter in the least what his fans LOOK like? Do you honestly buy the line that Oh Em Gee, he is sooooo deeply worried about these individuals? It’s none of his fucking business. Is he “worried” about very thin fans too? That they might be bulimic or anorexic, cooking lavish meals for others and refusing to eat–which is very common among eating-disordered people? Is he worried about fans who approach him with the tell-tale deep undereye circles and haggard compexion of an alcoholic? Otherwise attractive fans who approach him smelling faintly of cigarette smoke? For fuck’s sake, get a clue.
Incidentally, do you really believe obese people don’t know they are obese? News flash, bucko: they’re aware of it. Boy howdy, are the aware of it. They might also have terrific blood pressure, no diabetes at all, and you don’t know whether or not they go to the gym or even for a regular walk around the neighborhood, any more than you can intuit the diet and exercise regimen of a thin person–who may well never set foot in a gym and have the metabolism of a hummingbird.
You DON’T know, Alton doesn’t know, and cloaking his distaste for the physical appearance of fat people in the hackneyed guise of “OMG TEH HEALTHZ” is just the same old typical “Won’t somebody please think of the CHILDREN?” hysteria. It’s old and tired. It’s not rooted in real science. It’s prejudice, plain and simple, and Mr. Brown tactlessly shoved his foot so far down his gullet that he was able to kick himself in the spleen. How’s THAT taste, Altie? “Good Eats?”
Lisa B… PLEASE tell me you sent that off to the Food Network!!
Jesus cripes. I always seem to read these things a couple of days too late to get a jump in the conversation.
I have been a fan of AB’s for years. I even named my cat after him, so that should tell you something. I don’t like that he made these comments, particularly the way he decided to phrase them.
But, all of these calls for “Boycott!” “Write letters!” “Delete him from your TiVos!!!!” seems a bit of an overreaction to me. No, he should not have ascribed the various habits and lifestyle choices to his heavier fans that he did based soley on their appearances. But…you guys. Let’s be realistic. The man is about making delicious food–food often battered and deep-fried, coated in icing, dipped in chocolate, and covered in delicious melted cheese.
And if these guy is regularly getting obese fans coming up to him–fans with slightly labored breathing as they reach out to shake his hand or fans limping up to him on problem knee joints as a result of their weight–then maybe, just maybe, this guy has something to be concerned about. You cannot dispute that much of the time, when a person is GROSSLY overweight (and I stress “grossly”) that is linked to a multitude of other health problems. You’ll notice I did not say “all of the time,” or even “most of the time,” so please don’t jump down my throat.
That said, he probably went about handling it the wrong way. Perhaps he should focus a bit more on healthier food preparation choices on his show instead.
Okay, you know, I take that back. I don’t think it’s any use talking sense to you guys. I just read the comments a little more closely, and here is one I thought was polite, though the commenter respectfully disagreed with the overwhelming majority opinion here:
“i love alton (he was supposed to be a guest speaker at my org. annual meeting but he declined!) and so does my boyfriend – esp. his ‘feasting on asphalt’ (they have the same motorcycle)… it’s sad that he said such a thing but kinda agree with him (i know that’s bad but we really are a fat society)… i know there are people that have medical problems and emotional issues, but there are also a lot of people who are just darn lazy! just being honest… :o)”
And here are two totally rude uncalled for responses to her:
“jodi, there are a lot of people who are just plain dull, mean, and stupid, too.
And as you and Alton Brown prove, they tend to be damn proud of it.”
“Jeez, Jodi. Yeah, exercise is good. As in, something good in and of itself, not a means to the thin end. You might want to read more of the great posts in the fatosphere. I checked out your webpage, and you said you ran five miles last week and gained 1.5 pounds and were really upset. Does that tell you anything? For instance, that you can exercise all you want and still not lose weight?”
I mean, what the hell?! Do you guys really think there aren’t actually any lazy fat people in this country? I can tell you for a fact that there are. A LOT of them. Maybe you aren’t one of them. Maybe you didn’t get fat by lying around on your ass all day long watching Oprah and eating Bem & Jerry’s. And I’m sorry that some people will unjustifiably assume that you did based on your appearance. But there are millions of people in this country who DID get fat that way, and THEY need a wake-up call. For fuck’s sake.
Arlene, I agree. It’s not unreasonable for Alton to assume that his obese fans got that way through unhealthy lifestyles, as that is often the case. Also, it depends how you interpret his comment. While if you take it literally, it sounds like he doesn’t want fat people to come to his book signings, I think what he actually meant is he doesn’t like the fact that America is getting so fat. He thinks people should be in better shape, and what’s wrong with that? A great many people in the US are fat because of unhealthy lifestyles, so what he is saying is not illogical.
Are you kidding me? He is overweight. Has anyone watched Feasting on Asphalt? The whole show was basically nothing but him and his crew gorging on fried food…I kid you not.
OpenBothEyes, I didn’t send it off to the Food Network because it was brought to my attention that his comment was four years old. If I said something lunkheaded four freaking years ago and people were just now starting to pass it around and be outraged, I’d shrug and say “I said that THEN, but I don’t feel that way NOW.” Four years is a pretty long time. People’s opinions do change.
I’d like to give Alton the benefit of the doubt. It’s entirely possible that he felt a pang of conscience when dealing with some very obese fans, as if he’d helped them along that path.
Arlene, it’s true that some people got fat through overeating, often for emotional reasons: food=love, or to hide their bodies after sexual abuse, or even out of simple loneliness and depression. And you know what? They are human beings and absolutely deserve to be spoken of–and treated–respectfully.
Are you as concerned with lazy thin people who smoke? Drink? Never work out? Why is fatness at the top of the Concern Pyramid for you? Do you have any grasp of how demoralizing it is to address one’s own obesity and realize you have a hundred or more pounds to lose? I haven’t had that experience, but I know plenty of people who have.
Whether or not obese people “did it to themselves” is irrelevant to the fact that every human being deserves to be treated with dignity and decency. Shaming and shunning fat people is not an effective motivational tool to get them to start taking baby steps. It isolates and ostracizes them.
It takes an enormous amount of courage to go out into our world as a fat person, knowing eyes will judge you and lips will sneer at you. Have some compassion. Their fatness is not a personal assault on your delicate senses. It’s their burden, not yours. In conclusion, you’re a ragey bigot, and “I’m just being honest” :o)
That was good of you to write, Lisa. Bigots should get over their ignorance and stupidity, so calling bigots out isn’t illogical. Sometimes people need that wake-up call.
Ha! It’s good of you to be so concerned, Chicklet. The poor bigots might get all angried up about other people’s weight–which is of course their business, isn’t it?–and blow a gasket or stroke out.
That’s right, Lisa. It’s a health issue! And with the cost of health care, that makes their stupidity our business, right?
shut up you fat sobs. lose some weight. stop blaming others for your own problems. get a grip and do something about it. you are pathetic. keep telling yourself its somebody/somethingelses fault. u make me sick. stop crying about yourself and fix what you screwed up already.
Hee. We’re “fat sobs”! Trolls are so cute.
Pfffft.
Duff on Ace of Cakes is WAY WAY WAY sexier then Alton Brown.
Or he is in my eyes, anyway. =)
Besides, I can only watch so many episodes of Good Eats before my brain turns to mush.
Mmmm. . .Duff!
Timing of his quote notwithstanding, I do know that, of Alton Brown and myself, one of us is fat and the other one of us had a heart attack and had to have Tony Bourdain cover for him at a book signing. When Tony Bourdain is in better physical shape, after all the abuse he puts his body through, than yourself, one might want to rethink the whole “losing weight will solve all the problems of the world” theory.
I was out looking around for the deep fat fryer that AB used in his Man Food episode, when I ran into this thread. (If anyone knows please post?) I *love* AB, Good Eats, and have long been a fan of the show. I’m disappointed, if it’s true. It might be as someone’s suggested above, that AB is calling the kettle black as his own pot grows and flows over, (adorably! I’ll add!) but I’d like to believe that the remark was either never said, or said as a result of some miscommunication. Good Eats is so obviously for *everyone*. It’s *not* Good Eats … For Thin People. Who would watch that anyway?
He still consumes my fantasies. Fatty hater or not.
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/09/10/food-star-alton-brown-talks-sustainability/
This one is not dated 4yrs ago so now I have to wonder…
”I’ve struggled with weight all my life, and probably always will. But I was on my most recent book tour I was shocked by the number of overweight families,” he says. “People would come up to me and say, ‘Oh, we love the Food Network.’ Well, no (expletive); did you eat the TV? There’s only four of you and you can’t ride in an elevator together. I’ll probably make fat people angry, but we need, as a culture, to be ashamed. It’s not “… healthy.”
sigh, I guess it is better to know where he really stands vs wondering
From a psychological perspective…its projection and guilt from his superego and ego that makes him feel this way. Deep down-in our id we all want food, a ton of food.
And…since i said that about him i have to say this…its denial and projection that makes you so angry about some words someone said.
Your right, he does not know you, so he does not know why you are overweight…therefore his comments are misinformed and straight up not 100% correct.
Hence, on the most basic level, he is just wrong.
Would you like to be bashed on with endless threads just because you are wrong about something?
Sure, it was politically and scientifically incorrect. Which means it is null and void to anyone who “knows better.” And that means if you know better, his ignorance should not effect you.
By getting so upset it seems like he has a point based solely on the fact that it affected so many people in a negative way. Things that are not true are usually just dismissed and given no credit by giving it no attention.
In summary i suppose i am saying, both his comment and your comments are a result of continual human error and the only way to rectify it is to leave it all alone and chalk it up to being human.
Not sure if anyone will see this, but i do realize this thread has been quiet for quite awhile, but the principle still stands.
I think that he definately said what he said in a way that can be taken offensively. If he cared so much he should say something more about how to teach people to eat more healthier which does not seem to be the case…? I never saw this guy before, i looked him up on wikipedia. Part of being a celebrity though is that you get shit when you say something bad…that’s why you have to try to be tactful with what you say unless you are famous for being a jerk.
You know how I know there is absolute proof that fat people feel bad about themselves? It’s by taking the words of someone talking about himself, and being offended that he “hates them”. He, like a lot of actually healthy people, is showing concern about the giant asses that most of us are dragging around behind us. Fat is not healthy, nor is it attractive to most people.
People pretending that fat is acceptable, and then being all princessy when anyone imaginarily “disses” them is hypocritical. If you really felt that being overweight was a good thing, you wouldn’t be so oversensitive to imaginary slights. I’m 50 lbs overweight, so don’t think I’m one of those fitnessy types that “hates you”. I also don’t like the fact that I am overweight, and never would pretend that I do.
I also don’t intend to never do anything about it.
The only bad comments I’ve ever heard from him have been directed at himself. If you take that as a personal insult, there’s something emotionally wrong with you.
You don’t deserve to be coddled because you feel bad about yourselves. He isn’t the only one mentioning that people have made food too central in their lives. He didn’t say “you’re all gross and offensive” he said we as a nation shouldn’t have gotten this way.