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Love is Blind co-host Vanessa Lachey’s response to a question about body diversity on the reality show is raising eyebrows.
As reported by Huffpost, Lachey was asked why some contestants don’t make it past the first “pod” stage, where contestants on the Netflix dating show meet in separate rooms and have conversations through a wall, leaving them unaware of what the other looks like.
If a strong connection is made, then the couple become engaged and meet face to face to continue on to the next stages of the show.
She admitted most of the cast fits conventional beauty standards and suggested insecurity might prevent people from moving past the first stage.
She said:
“Their whole life they've been so insecure about being themselves because of this crazy swipe generation that we are in and this catfishing world that we're in, that they're so afraid to be themselves.”
She continued:
“I wonder if they truly don’t have enough time in those two weeks to find themselves, A, and then be themselves to then find that spouse."
While plus-size contestants have been cast for the show, none have ever made it past the pods.
In fact, the show has not had a prominent contestant who is plus-size, visibly disabled or over forty years old.
Some people on Twitter did not take kindly to Lachey insinuating not conventionally attractive people were all insecure.
\u201cThis interview is a hot mess.\n\nShe\u2019s asked why her show doesn\u2019t have plus-sized people and her reasoning is they\u2019re all insecure and busy catfishing. \n\n I need Vanessa Lachey to stop talking.\u201d— \ud83e\udd40 \u0258i\ua645\ua645\u0252\u0186 \ud83d\udd2e\u0250\u0131\u0279pu\u0250\u027e\u01ddl\u2200 \ud835\udc35\ud835\udc3f\ud835\udc40 \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4ACAB #BB24 (@\ud83e\udd40 \u0258i\ua645\ua645\u0252\u0186 \ud83d\udd2e\u0250\u0131\u0279pu\u0250\u027e\u01ddl\u2200 \ud835\udc35\ud835\udc3f\ud835\udc40 \ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddfd\ud83c\udde9\ud83c\uddf4ACAB #BB24) 1658876519
\u201c@BuzzFeed Maybe they chose the wrong title for the show. That\u2019s the point. Don\u2019t call it Love is Blind. Call it something else that is more honest.\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
\u201c@lib_nerd @BuzzFeed right? and some really rude comments made toward them were still shown but the rest of their journey wasn\u2019t. sad\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
\u201cremember when i said i liked vanessa lachey? i take it back. you're telling me only skinny bodies are the only type that DONT get insecure?\u201d— lex \u2728 (@lex \u2728) 1658882368
\u201cDear @VanessaLachey and @LoveisBlindShow Be better. Pick people who ARE MORE INCLUSIVE and OPEN MINDED. ISN'T THAT THE ANSWER!?!? https://t.co/kfr05KBP98\u201d— Sharron Matthews (@Sharron Matthews) 1658882992
Others noted the lack of body diversity is a reflection of what the show's producers want to see on the show.
\u201c@BuzzFeed I really don't understand why performers who don't have any control over these decisions don't just answer, "You'd have the ask the showrunner about that. Let me know what you find out!"\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
\u201c@BuzzFeed Is this a thing that actually requires explanation? It's television\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
\u201c@gomezquality @BuzzFeed they are absolutely casting the show on looks. just bc that doesn't factor into the way the cast members pair up, doesn't mean netflix isn't thinking about the millions of people who are going to watch the show. if it wasn't about looks we wouldn't know what they look like either\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
Some chimed in with hot takes worse than Lachey.
\u201c@BuzzFeed That would be the end of the show.. you're welcome\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
\u201c@BuzzFeed Quit acting like you all don't know the real reason. People want to see hot people on TV it's pretty plain and simple.\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
But others kind of got what Lachey was saying.
\u201c@BriTheCheese @BuzzFeed Exactly. It hurts like hell! I would hate form that to happen to me, yet again, on a popular television/streaming show.\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
\u201c@BuzzFeed Do you watch the show? They do have some body inclusivity (though not enough) amongst the contestants, but they aren\u2019t featured because they don\u2019t make it past the pods. That\u2019s entirely on them. Her comments are a little tone deaf but your mischaracterizing greatly\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
\u201c@BuzzFeed In fairness as a fat person who has always been paunchy even at an 18 BMI, you could not pay me to go on such a show because of how people treated me in school. So I could believe some fat people have been asked and go "lol lol loool no" because that would be my reaction\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1658852636
\u201cVanessa Lachey's comments actually make perfect sense to me. It's because of cast mates like Abhishek 'Shake' Chatterjee. Men and women with "diverse" body types are insecure because they could wind up with someone insanely cruel -- like Shake.\u201d— Vanessa Santos (@Vanessa Santos) 1658882499
Vanessa Lachey hosts Love Is Blind alongside her husband, singer Nick Lachey.
Besides the United States, there is also a Brazilian and a Japanese version of the show.