Correspondents, talking heads, pundits, mental midgets; whatever you want to call them, it's becoming all too common for someone on a cable news network to spout a totally ridiculous opinion just to stir up some controversy. A couple weeks back, on FOX News, MeMe Roth from the National Action Against Obesity group, came on Neil Cavuto's show and said that
Jordin Sparks should not win
American Idol because she is obese and it sends the wrong message to American's youth. Child obesity (and obesity in general) is a serious issue in our country, and MeMe Roth may have had good intentions, but there are much better examples of obesity than Jordin Sparks.
MeMe Roth said, “When I look at Jordin I see diabetes, I see heart disease, I see high cholesterol. That's what's so sad about this. She is not the vision of health; she is the vision of unhealth.”
Besides the fact that “unhealth” is not a word, MeMe is out of line here. Jordin Sparks is, simply, a big girl. Five feet, eleven inches, and the daughter of a former NFL player. Svelteness probably wasn't a genetic option for Jordin. Also, let's not forget that Jordin is 17 years old. She may very well lose her baby fat in the next few years and, even if she doesn't, most viewers would probably agree that she looked relatively healthy throughout the season.
MeMe Roth, since her appearance on FOX News, says she has received death threats for her comments. Whoever issued said threats are clearly insane (as I suppose anyone who issues death threats is), but they are a good indicator of the passionate backlash she has received since targeting Jordin and her weight.
The truth is that, yeah, Jordin Sparks would benefit from losing weight. A lot of people would. But, to target a 17-year old feels wrong, and is indicative of how preposterous much of cable news/talking head segments have become. With so much noise in the media, sometimes the only way to be heard is to opine loudly and/or insanely (I'm looking at you, Skip Bayless).
Here is the video of MeMe Roth on with Neil Cavuto:
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Source: The Post Chronicle)
(Image Courtesy of AmericanIdol.com)
