Plus-sized model Tess Holliday has claimed she was not able to get life insurance because of her weight
Posting a video on TikTok earlier this week, the model said she was denied the insurance despite her healthy lifestyle.
“I’m sorry. Yes, I did think that I could get life insurance as a 40-year-old, non-smoking, non-drinking, non-health issue having human. That was honestly my bad,” she sarcastically said in her post.
“Am I 5-foot-3, and do I weigh over 300 pounds?” Holliday continued. “And, apparently, that makes me ineligible for life insurance? Yeah, it does.”
She said she works out every day, does not take any medications and does not have any preexisting conditions, but that didn’t make a difference.
“I also understand that the medical industrial complex is fatphobic and the system is broken,” the TikTok video continued. “That’s my bad, and that’s on me. And, honestly, it won’t happen again. Lesson learned.”
Commenters echoed Holliday’s sentiments, sharing that they’d had similar experiences.
“I have gotten denied soo many times!” one person wrote. “No health problems. Just 5’7 and 400 is enough for them to say nope.”
Another agreed, “Me too, then i lost 75 pounds and was still denied because of my BMI. Just open an RothIRA and pay the highest yearly allowance. Its relatively cheaper and grows better and i can start receiving it in 15 years.”
“They denied me too because they said I have diabetes. I had gestational diabetes 9 years ago and no issues since,” wrote a third.
Holliday’s video comes months after she addressed a fatphobic comment she received from a flight attendant.
“When I came out of the bathroom, the flight attendant then started to tell me that they noticed I was traveling with my child, and that losing weight would be in my best interest,” she told People magazine last year.
The flight attendant added that his sister was “very, very large, probably [Holliday’s] size.”
“He said that his sister needed to lose weight as well, and that the long-term effect on our bodies isn’t good for our health,” Holliday continued. “This went on for about 10 minutes, and I think I was just frozen. I didn’t want to make a scene because my son was flying with me, but I was also in a state of shock.”
