Of course, all of this comes on the heels of her infamous exchange about Disney star Zendaya’s dreadlocks on the “Fashion Police;” the incident and subsequent fallout led two of her high-profile co-hosts to quit the show, and drove Rancic to publicly apologize.
This week, Rancic finally spoke out about her weight.
“Some people were saying, ‘The cancer is probably back,'” she told People. “And they were accusing me of every eating disorder. I thought to myself, ‘God, if someone really thought I had an eating disorder, what a horrible way to approach it.’ ”
Rancic, who admits that she’s gotten too thin, went on to explain that the cancer-suppressing medication that she takes boosts her metabolism and makes it difficult for her to gain weight.
Sure, to some of us the thought of not being able to gain weight sounds dreamy, but Rancic confesses to struggling with her appearance. “I look in the mirror and it’s hard for me,” she says. “I am really thin. I want to look fit and beautiful and sexy, and I can’t.”
I’m a fan of Rancic’s, so I’ve certainly noticed how thin she has gotten — but I just don’t get the backlash. Why is it that people become so cruel when someone goes from very thin to too thin? Why is it that the first impulse is to attack someone instead of say, “I’m worried about you. How can I help?”
As Rancic points out, shaming someone is certainly not helpful or productive. There was a time in my life when I was too thin — due to an eating disorder, not medication — and plenty of people called me “disgusting” and “crazy,” but no one was willing to help. Their criticism and scorn only added fuel to my internal struggle. In fact, their criticism made it harder for me to get healthy. I can only wonder how much quicker I would have recovered had I been supported.
Rancic is clearly going through a health crisis, and she deserves our concern and kindness, not our criticism.
Photo: Getty
