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Last week, we talked about Tara Reid’s periodic plea for people to stop commenting on her weight. Every couple of years, Tara has to shut down eating disorder rumors and remind people that when they shame her for being too skinny, it’s also a form of bullying. Tara’s most recent comments came about because she’s doing the press circuit following her brief appearance on the FOX reality TV show, Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
During a recent interview with Extra, Tara sat down with her longtime friend, Billy Bush, to talk about the physicality of doing the show. She shared that she had been asked to do it three days before filming started, and if she’d had more time to prepare, she would have done some strength training. The conversation, which you can watch below, evolves into a discussion about her weight. Tara once again denies she has or ever had an eating disorder. She tries to get Billy to sympathize with her, saying, “You know how it is,” in reference to tabloid gossip. It goes south for poor Tara when Billy responds by telling her that “as [her] friend,” he thinks she looks “a little too skinny.”
Extra host Billy Bush expressed concern to Tara Reid that she appears “too skinny” — right after she crushed rumors of her having an eating disorder.
Reid was on Extra Thursday talking about her recent stint on the FOX reality TV show Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test when she asked Bush, who has known her for years, if she “look[ed] any different.”
Bush replied: “I think you look a little too skinny…”
But Reid had always been this way, despite people accusing her of disordered eating. “I eat all the time,” she said.
“That’s not a problem for me. So they make up problems that don’t even exist, and then one person rolls on it and then everyone rides on it…It’s been going on for years, but there’s no eating disorder. I never had one.”
Reid then said that perhaps her current appearance is due to getting older and being a little fragile, adding, “That’s what happens to older ladies.”
Bush told the actress that no one should be making nasty comments about her. But he also said, “I also think as your friend, I would maybe take a look at some muscle-building program.” Reid agreed, saying they should do that for next year if Special Forces resumes.
Omg, I watched the entire clip and the whole exchange (which starts at 2:26) is just so cringe. I feel so badly for Tara. You could tell that Billy knew as soon as he opened his mouth to talk that he was going to have to stick his foot right in it. It’s like his mean-girl mouth took over before his brain neurons could stop him. He sputtered like he was trying to put the breaks on, but nope, he was already committed to giving her the one answer that she had just made clear she did not want to hear. Kudos to Tara for not losing her cool, even though she looked hurt. If Billy wanted to be a bit more diplomatic, he could have led with his eventual answer about doing weight-training to build muscle. Something like, “You do look the same! But like you said earlier, I think you should definitely look into building more muscle so you can kick butt when you go back on the show again!” He recovers okay, but still, yikes.
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