Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Sophia Bush Puts Urban Outfitters in Their Place

Sophia Bush, whom I’ve never really cared to investigate, nor have I ever watched One Tree Hill so it made it hard to really care about who she was, has made some comments recently regarding a piece of apparel at Urban Outfitters (a store I normally love) and after hearing her take on their product, I’m definitely Team Sophia. The article of clothing in question, a shirt that cries “Eat Less,” is for sale at Urban Outfitters, and it obviously rubbed Bush (and many consumers) the wrong way. She took to her personal blog to address the situation and pulled no punches:

Ladies! This is OUTRAGEOUS. I hope none of you will stand for being told such a thing, in such a way. Being healthy, eating right, and staying active is one thing. Being told to starve yourselves by a fashion company? Not cool.

UO,

I have been a supporter of your store for many years, but now I’m through.

I am fortunate enough to star on a wonderful TV show called One Tree Hill. I play a fashion designer named Brooke Davis, who started a campaign on the show called “Zero Is Not A Size” and the outpouring of love and gratitude that came my way from girls and women ALL OVER THE WORLD who have body image issues brought me to tears.

To promote starvation? To promote anorexia, which leads to heart disease, bone density loss, and a slew of other health problems, not least of all psychological issues that NEVER go away? Shame on you. I will no longer be shopping …

… at your stores. And I will encourage the tens of thousands of female supporters I have to do the same. I have fought to boycott BP. I never imagined I would also be boycotting affordable fashion.

You should issue a public apology, and make a hefty donation to a women’s organization that supports those stricken with eating disorders. I am sickened that anyone, on any board, in your gigantic company would have voted ‘yes’ on such a thing, let alone enough of you to manufacture an item with such a hurtful message. It’s like handing a suicidal person a loaded gun. You should know better.

I sincerely hope that next time you decide that making fun of serious issues is comedic, or ’snarky in a cool way,’ that you rethink your decision.

Wow. An emerging female celebrity with charm, wit, intelligence, and a penchant for speaking out against the injustices brought forth against women above a certain dress size. I’m totally not going to start watching One Tree Hill, (Chad Michael Murray? Gag me with a herpes-coated spoon) but I’m definitely going to start paying a bit more attention to Ms. Sophia Bush.

39 CommentsLeave a comment

  • I completely agree with her about the shirt…
    I do take offense to “Zero is not a size,” and always have. I am a size zero because I am short and naturally small. I eat well, and exercise to maintian my health… but zero IS a size, and I’m sorry if you’re upset about that.

    • Actually, by definition, zero is not a size. Zero is a number which implies nothing, and I am pretty sure you consist of something.
      The numbers attributed to sizes are completely arbitrary. A size 6 does not actually imply some form of numerical measurement. You could be the size you are, and the fashion industry could refer to you as a size 29- you’d still be the size you are.
      I think it is silly that any size would ever be measured with a zero. It is completely illogical, and somewhat demeaning.
      You are more than nothing, aren’t you?

      • If size numbers are arbitrary (which I absolutely agree that they are), then zero is just a label assigned to that size. Not some indication of a absence of size. I was just trying to assert that this whole “down with skinny people” agenda is really lame. If we’re going to promote a society of acceptance for women of all sizes, shouldn’t we embrace ALL sizes? Even if the number on the label doesn’t make logical sense?

    • Thanks, Dee. I too am just a naturally small girl- 5 foot nothing, 105 lbs. I was just made small. I do tend to get a little offended when people talk about how disgusting size 0 girls are, and how no one should want to look like that.
      I don’t think someone who is curvy should ever strive to be size 0- people should maintain a weight that is healthy for their body type and size- I agree with Sophia.
      But I also understand what you are saying.

      • Dee and Anonymous, sing it! I am in the same boat.

        Can’t we all be considered attractive, not just one group or another based on how bitchy people are feeling that day. Jesus.

      • I as well am a size O at 5’2 and 100 lbs. I’ve tried gaining weight or whatever, but I am the size I am. No one should discriminate against thin, hefty or averaged sized folk.

  • Most people do need to eat less. I feel like I see more obese people on an everyday basis then anorexic.

    • Agreed. Women size 12+ need put down the doughnuts and hit the treadmill. [If you’re 5’4″ and under make that a size 8+.]

      • You’re a dense piece of work. I have two very good friends who despite being more active than me (both run every day, like insane distances) and who keep healthier diets (one is a juvenile diabetic the other a vegetarian,) and neither can drop under a size 12! Meanwhile, I sit on my ass and eat carbs all day and manage a size 8.

        Like those size 0’s were whining about in the comments: Sometimes you are the size you are. Don’t assume just because someone is bigger/smaller than average that they have an eating disorder!

  • What is Sophia referring to? Am I the only one who missed what she was talking about?

    Thanks.

  • “Hefty donation” indeed!

    In all seriousness, though, good for her for standing up for what she believes in. As for me, I don’t think my self-esteem would ever suffer because of a shirt offering valid (and rude, and unsolicited, yes) advice. After all, it says “eat less,” not “stop eating.” Even when I was heavier, I probably would have laughed if I saw the shirt (after all, my personal mantra to myself was “put down the fork!”)

    However, I’m not an insecure teenager with an eating disorder. Those who are are in a particularly vulnerable state, and to pick on them in this way is definitely in poor taste. Good for you, Sophia Whoever, for sticking up for them.

  • Here in the midwest we could use a campaign like “eat less” we are a BIG people. Ever go to the zoo, public park or pool…the obsese far out number the healthy sized adults….and the children! so many are over weight. I see it everyday when I take my average sized 6 year old to camp, or the public pool. We are an over weight nation- and we need to eat less and more healthy fare.
    In case you were wondering I am about 20 pounds overweight 42 yrs old- I do not exercise as much as I should, but I cook healthy meals and never eat fast food.
    I agree we need to set positive examples for young women and I never talk about my weight in front of my daughter. I get that urban outfitters is a store for the younger set and it might not be the right message in that context. Maybe Lane Bryant should carry that line of tee’s instead.

    • Roxanne, you say that you are overweight and that you eat healthy and avoid fast food, but also don’t exercise as much as you should. So clearly you’re eat habits are alright but your exercise habits are not. So wouldn’t it be more correct for Urban Outfitters to make a shirt that says “Exercise More” instead of “Eat Less”? I mean, personally I think either option would be a bad influence on anorexic individuals and I wouldn’t support either. But wouldn’t “Exercise More” be a better message that more accurately deals with the problem?

  • Reality check – if stores are making size 0 clothes, it is now a size. I don’t go into a store saying “i’m the size below 2, because 0 is not a size”. It is possible to be naturally that size, even when eating half a large pizza for dinner on a regular basis and NOT vomiting it up, thank you. So yes, it’s offensive.

    -another naturally 0 late 20-something whose metabolism has yet to “catch up to her” like all my middle school friends’ moms said it would. slam.

  • OMG you fucking fat crybabies, no one is saying “starve yourself” so get over it; the shirt just says EAT LESS, which you probably should.

  • I FAIL to see how the words “Eat Less” contributes to eating disorders. Let’s face it, we as Americans could stand to EAT LESS. I want this shirt, and if they better have them.
    I’m sure Sophia Bush isn’t even a size 7 so she should STFU. If they want to help women they should complain and try to get them to “BE CHEAPER” with their prices on clothing.

  • I’m not saying I agree with the message on the shirt, but I’m 90% sure it’s in reference to the recent ‘Alice in Wonderland’ remake, where the words ‘Eat Less’ are next to the mushroom or cake or whatever that makes her shrink/grow.

    In saying that, to put them on a t-shirt does take them completely out of context and obviously has offended alot of people. And it’s not even a cool slogan for a t-shirt, so well done UO, negative publicity for no good reason.

  • t shirt slogans are just t shirt slogans. Anorexia is nowhere near as widespread as overeating, so why is “eat less” presumed to mean “starve yourself?” anorexia is not caused by people eating less- it’s caused by people taking weight loss to an extreme and starving themselves obsessively. Eat less, exercise more is universally taken as the best, healthiest and doctor-recommended way to lose weight for most people.
    Some people get obsessive about things and harm themselves- it’s not because of some shirt that actually gives pretty decent advice but because of the way we are bombarded constantly with images of perfect bodies. T shirt slogans are meant to be a bit edgy- but there are real things to get outraged by, not some dubious pair of words on someone’s shirt. In fact, eat less could just as easily and as accurately be a comment on the fact that most westerners eat FAR TOO MUCH while others are starving to death. Due to poverty, I might add. Not from a mental illness and obsession with being perfect.

  • Sophia Bush is a pretty well adjusted lady. Too bad this article is almost exactly like the one at Celebitchy that Kaiser wrote.

    • Unless you’re a woman who is 5 foot 7 or above. Sorry but weight correlates to height (duh.). You can’t just throw around some arbitrary number and make generalizations about how much YOU think all women should weigh. Seriously, stfu.

      • I’m 5″9, 140 and considered to be underweight, so I have to agree with Bebe. Perhaps you yourself are vertically challenged and never thought to take into consideration all the extra bone, muscle and other tissues a tall person has? What about female athletes? Should they never weight more than 140?

        If we’re going to start being giving people such rigid standards, I’d love for all men to be 200 lbs of muscle. (kidding!)

    • I agree! And all men should look like and weigh no more than Gerard Butler. Get on that, bro.

  • eating too little, eating too much – both are disordered eating habits. the focus should be on eating healthfully, and exercising appropriately. size is totally arbitrary, and i don’t even like to dwell on the number on a scale. “eating disorders” are mental illnesses. obesity is a sick epidemic in this country. i think that people need to worry about enjoying food in appropriate portions, eating healthfully, and staying active. there is no other argument.

  • “sweetie”, 5’7 and 140 pounds is definitely NOT a fatass. seriously, worry about your own damn self. i am sick of people hating…people.

    • hm, i’m not the person who was calling everyone a fatass, but i think they have a point. shouldn’t a 5’7″ girl be like 125? i’m 5’3″ and 108, soo 140 seems like an awful lot.

  • Wow you short girls really need a BMI reality check. While someone who is 5’7″ and 125lbs IS considered to be in the healthy BMI range, it is only 8lbs shy of being considered medically underweight. The healthy weight range for a 5’7″ person is considered to be around 117 to 159 pounds. Sorry, but to hear girls say that a 140lb 5’7″ girl is overweight… it makes my skin crawl. I believe that if more young people were educated about what is considered a healthy weight, we might not have so many body image issues in America.

  • I think weight is irrelevant so long as you’re healthy.. If you eat well but exercise alot, and thus have alot of muscle, which weighs more than fat, then what’s the problem? Obesity is more than just how much you weigh, it’s the way you treat your body when it comes to food and exercise.

  • Sarah, I like your posts a lot, but I definitely disagree with you and Sophia Bush here.

    No one is forced to buy the shirt. Though wearing it in public runs the risk of offending those struggling with anorexia (or their friends and loved ones), Sophia seems to be blowing things a bit out of proportion.

    Besides, I -know- that I should eat less. I was anorexic for a while in high school. With many people, it becomes a devastating disease. It worked wonders for me. Knowing the potential consequences, I would never recommend that anyone starve themselves like I did, but I certainly would never be offended by a shirt that — let’s face it — offers advice that most of America should heed.