A sports writer for a “bro” magazine calls Rihanna “fat” and says the “Work” singer’s weight is “tough to stomach.”
Chris “Spags” Spagnuolo, a writer at “bro” mag Barstool Sports , is in hot water for calling Rihanna “fat” and worrying that other “hot girls” could follow the trend and look like they’re wearing “sumo suits.”
In a misogynic and body-shaming article, which Elle magazine calls “one of the grossest things we’ve read in a while,” Spagnuolo, who has previously joked about Rihanna being beaten by former boyfriend Chris Brown, took a swipe at RiRi for possibly gaining weight .
The offending article, which was based on pictures of Rihanna in New York City from this past Saturday, sparked a furor on social media, with many users slamming Spagnuolo for being rude, misogynist, and calling him all kinds of things.
In the piece under the click-bait title “Is Rihanna Going To Make Being Fat The Hot New Trend?”, Spagnuolo estimates that Rihanna now weighs 180 pounds and says the “Sex With Me” singer looks as if she’s wearing a “sumo suit.”
On the pictures so blatantly reviewed by the writer, Rihanna is seen sporting an oversized blue button-down, and a rounder than usual face, which one could argue makes it look as if RiRi has gained weight.
However, an unflattering photo angle – the ultimate mood-destroyer for every Instagram girl – might also be to blame for Rihanna’s seemingly heavier look.
While some news outlets even started speculating if Rihanna could be pregnant – Beyoncé is, so why not also Rihanna, right? – the singer was spotted three days later looking slimmer.
While Rihanna’s new photos have shut down the speculations of her gaining weight or being pregnant, Spagnuolo is not going to shut down the criticism and insults addressed to him, at least not anytime soon.
Spagnuolo is no stranger to being ripped apart by social media users, as the sports writer has previously caused quite a stir in the media by cracking jokes about Rihanna being beaten by her former boyfriend, Chris Brown.
Worrying that Rihanna may “set precedent” for girls to gain weight to look like the “Work” hitmaker, Spagnuolo offers his misogynistic and body-shaming opinion about Rihanna “going for Ashley Graham’s spot on the plus-sized hierarchy,” hinting that being plus-size is bad.
Is Rihanna going to make being fat the hot new trend? https://t.co/DnFdi9AZy3 pic.twitter.com/r6jed6wRiQ
— Chris Spags (@ChrisSpags) May 30, 2017
If “the hottest girls” do follow Rihanna’s suit, Spagnuolo argues, then the world would be full of “ladies shaped like the Hindenburg loaded into one-piece bathing suits may be on the horizon.”
And that would be a “dystopian” future, the sports writer adds, saying that if “the hottest girls” start gaining weight, then he’ll have to worry about not being “a guy who fancies himself a chubby chaser.”
After the backlash erupted in the media, Barstool Sports ‘ editor issued a statement saying the “bro” magazine should not have published the story, but not because it was rude, because it was unfunny , according to the Daily Mail .
This is the same magazine that earlier this month “admired” porn stars showing advanced sex positions for Mother’s Day. The article was published by none other than Spags himself!
In the article, Spags seems to imply that older couples can’t have sex without injuring themselves before he starts referring to sex between older people as “rolling up 50 something year old bodies.”
The article about body-shaming Rihanna was eventually taken down by the magazine, though the Twitterverse continues throwing insults at the sports writer and calling him a “sad excuse for a man.”
Major magazines also joined in the fun of lambasting the “bro” mag and Spagnuolo, with Cosmopolitan calling Barstool Sports a “garbage sports site,” and Allure magazine criticizing the author for using misogyny and body-shaming to earn views as “a pretty pathetic path to success.”
Using misogyny & body-shaming women as a way to earn Twitter engagement is a pretty pathetic path to success.
Just FYI. pic.twitter.com/2e2P0uu5Ec
— Allure (@Allure_magazine) May 30, 2017
[Featured Image by JP Yim/Getty Images]