Remi Bader had everything the algorithm rewards: authenticity, a real body, and millions of people who felt represented in her try-on videos. For years, she was living proof that you didn’t have to be a size 2 to be an influencer.
Then she started losing weight. She posted workout routines without explaining anything else, and the silence lasted nearly a year and a half. When she finally spoke on Khloé Kardashian’s podcast, she said she had undergone bariatric surgery because of binge-eating disorder, a 45-kilo weight gain, and chronic back pain.
After losing 63 kilos, she was accused of using the body-acceptance movement to become famous and then turn her back on it. Journalist Mikala Jamison puts it differently: people confuse having opinions about someone else’s body with activism.
