Plus-sized supermodel Tess Holliday is billed by Milk Management as “the first size-22 model.” Her career is on the rise, and she covered People last month. She wrote an essay that challenged preconceived notions of beauty. Tess detailed how countless modelling agencies rejected her, so she started posting her own photos on the internet. She posed in bathing suits “and other clothes that I liked but weren’t considered suitable for large and curvy women.” Her photos drew attention, and she started booking modelling gigs.

Several days ago, Tess spoke with The Guardian about her career. The journo observed Tess during a lingerie shoot that took place on a public street. At one point, Tess yelled, “Never seen a fat girl in her underwear before?” This piece got progressively messier:

On being called “fat”: “To me it’s just a word, but it wasn’t until I discovered the body positive community that I became OK with it. I’ve been called fat my whole life. I am fat, so it’s kind of silly to get mad about it.”

She loves to comfort eat & won’t apologize: “Everyone has their vices, but mine are visible. If I shot all day and I want a f***ing hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant I’m going to eat it. Am I going to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner? No. Is it OK to do it? If you want. But, you know, no one is coming at celebrities for smoking two packs of cigarettes. Or people who post a photo with their drink at the end of the day. So why is it OK to do that to me? Life is sh*tty, so why would you judge somebody for dealing with it in the best way they can?”

The excerpt that raised eyebrows: We’re in a cafe, finally sitting down after a six-hour shoot that’s had Holliday traipsing blocks in oppressive heat and then a rainstorm. Throughout, she’s been a hilarious corrective to the notion of models as mute and biddable clotheshorses. At one point, an African American guy, middle-aged, said something appreciative as he walked by. “What do guys think they’ll achieve by yelling something?” She asked, shifting her weight and adjusting the cape primly. “They’re like: ‘She’ll love this, I’ll definitely get her number.’” A pause, and then she added, with some satisfaction, “I do admit that black men love me. I always forget that, and then I come to a black neighbourhood and I remember.” And no one quite knew what to say. Later, finally and effortfully manoeuvred into some lethal-looking Christian Louboutin stilettos, adding height to her 5ft 5in, she’d calmly told the photographer: “If you’re not shooting my shoes, I will f*** you up.”

[From The Guardian]

The writers at The Grio weren’t impressed by Tess’ stereotypical declarations and reacted with a series of GIFs. Associate editor Danielle Belton wrote, “Um … ‘Good for her’? I also want to add that ‘black guys like me’ too, if we’re only basing this on who hollers at you on the street.” Yeah, Tess needs to watch her words. Her personality is very abrasive, and the Guardian journo pointed out the dead silence that followed this particular statement.

Tess believes her words were misinterpreted. She took to Facebook with an apology:

“I apologise for any hurt that my flippant comment has caused. Being followed and quoted is something new for me and I am going to occasionally say or do things that make people unhappy. For that I am sorry, your opinions are important to me. The incident in question occurred when I was on the street, feeling rather exposed in my underwear for the shoot, and an older black man cat called me as I was walking behind the team. I replayed the incident to the team once we were set up for the next shot, and jokingly said some semblance of what appeared in print. It was in relation to being cat called by black men significantly more than by white, but perhaps my tone and wording didn’t convey this clearly. It was also meant to play into the idea that black men like bigger women, but the humour of that doesn’t come through. To further add context, the team included two talented black women – so it was clearly not something intended to cause offence.”

[From Tess Holliday on Facebook]

Tess claims to be misquoted, which is possible. The entire Guardian piece presents Tess as an unpleasant person, but it’s possible that the journo carved a false narrative. Or maybe Tess was upset about being catcalled, and she said things she didn’t mean. If some of the catcallers were negative, that could throw a person’s mood completely off.

Here are some photos (all of which are tagged #effyourbeautystandards) from Tess’ Instagram page. She uses the hashtag to counteract online bullying.

A photo posted by +Size Model || Feminist???? (@tessholliday) on Jun 6, 2015 at 10:08am PDT

A photo posted by +Size Model || Feminist???? (@tessholliday) on May 31, 2015 at 5:46pm PDT

A photo posted by +Size Model || Feminist???? (@tessholliday) on May 15, 2015 at 7:26am PDT

Until next time NYC! (Dress is @ftfsnaps styled by @littlelimedress for my press day) #tessholliday #exhausted #effyourbeautystandards ????????????????????

A photo posted by +Size Model || Feminist???? (@tessholliday) on May 23, 2015 at 6:14pm PDT

Photos courtesy of People & Tess Holliday on Instagram