“LMFAO i cannot imagine having an eating disorder themed wedding,” reads the top comment on a viral TikTok from fitness influencer Sam Cutler—a divisive video that led Cutler to accuse her detractors of bullying.
Titled “WHAT I ATE ON MY #WEDDINGDAY,” the TikTok shows Cutler (aka @thefitfatale) eating stereotypical diet food like green smoothies, salads, and a veggie platter while preparing for her wedding.
At the wedding itself, she and her guests enjoyed a dairy-free, gluten-free meal including salmon, chopped salad, a sugar-free cake, healthy snack food brands like Unreal Chocolate, and a taco bar. Guests were also offered Arrae anti-bloating pills during the meal, and at one point Cutler singles out a wine brand she selected due to its low sugar content.
Echoing similar controversies over diet advice from celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, this TikTok attracted a lot of criticism, with commenters accusing Cutler of promoting disordered eating.
@thefitfatale WHAT I ATE ON MY #WEDDINGDAY as a #glutenfree & #dairyfree health focused #bride 🤍 #weddingtiktok #fitbride #healthyliving #wieiad #whatiate ♬ This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) – Natalie Cole
Cutler’s comments section was overwhelmed with derisive replies mocking her food selections (“Almond mom lifestyle hard”), or comparing the menu to their own wedding day experiences (“I had a McDouble for breakfast”).
She also had plenty of defenders praising her menu and the concept of serving “healthy” and/or gluten-free food at a wedding. However, they were outnumbered by people expressing disbelief at the anti-bloat pills, or questioning the idea of sticking to your diet on your wedding day.
Reactions were even more negative on Twitter, where the TikTok was reposted by Twitter user @buzzfeedjenny. Calling the anti-bloat pills “literal laxatives,” she wrote that Cutler “clearly has a food obsession and guilt.” (According to the Arrae supplement website, these pills don’t contain laxatives and are “not meant to be used as a weight loss aid.”)
The intense responses to this TikTok are a perfect illustration of the discourse around diet culture right now, where so-called wellness trends can easily overlap with disordered eating.
Like many health and fitness influencers, Cutler promotes a low-calorie, plant-centric diet with a particular focus on gut health, anti-inflammatory foods, and mental health. This style of dieting is marketed differently from classic diets that are openly directed toward weight loss.
But detractors argue this is basically just orthorexia, encouraging people to obsess about eating “clean” foods and feel guilty about consuming anything “bad.” Like, say, a glass of wine or a sugary cake at their wedding. Several commenters said that this TikTok reminded them vividly of their own eating disorder experiences.
Responding to the backlash, Sam Cutler posted a follow-up TikTok saying “comments like this are NEVER okay,” screencapping the original “eating disorder themed wedding” reply to her wedding post.
@thefitfatale Replying to @Lilith! TW if you struggle with mental health challenges or eating dissorders. I hope this can inspire some to find what works for their bodies proudly without shame, and others to rethink the way they judge, speak and communicate with human beings. Sending so much love 🤍 #mentalhealth #mindfulness #healthylifestyle ♬ Emotional Piano for the Soul (Inspirational Background Music) – Fearless Motivation Instrumentals
Over a montage of her daily life, Cutler criticized the negative commenters for trying to police women for their personal lifestyle choices, saying, “labeling someone as having mental health or body image issues for the purpose of bullying is extremely low.”
“The fact that a comment like this can get 15,000 likes only reinforces the need for women to connect and inspire each other to feel their best and learn what works for their individual body,” she added.
Ultimately, this is a very familiar kind of controversy in the world of wellness influencers.
Social media allowed thousands of people to pile on and criticize a stranger’s wedding menu, which by any normal standard is real asshole behavior.
At the same time, Sam Cutler’s TikTok is a marketing tool, advertising diet-related brands and her own career as a fitness influencer—whose key selling point is her own appearance as a thin, conventionally beautiful role model. And as we can tell from the reactions online, one person’s aspirational lifestyle advice is another person’s eating disorder.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Sam Cutler via her website.
