'The View' weighs in on James Corden, Bill Maher 'fat-shaming' comments

"The View" co-hosts discussed fat shaming on Monday after comedian Bill Maher said on his show that fat shaming needed to "make a comeback" and actor James Corden gave an emotional response on his own show days later.

"Being fat isn't a birth defect. Nobody comes out of the womb needing to buy two seats on the airplane," Maher said on his HBO show, "Real Time with Bill Maher," on Sept. 6. "We have gone to this weird place where fat is good. It's pointing out that fat is unhealthy."

"Fat shaming doesn’t need to end; it needs to make a comeback. Some amount of shame is good," Maher added.

"Late Late Show" host Corden, who says he knew what it was like to be overweight, responded to Maher's comments during a segment on his show on Sept. 12, saying that “fat-shaming never went anywhere. I mean, ask literally any fat person. We are reminded of it all the time.”

"There’s a common and insulting misconception that fat people are stupid and lazy, and we’re not," Corden added. "We know that being overweight isn’t good for us and I’ve struggled my entire life trying to manage my weight and I suck at it. I’ve had good days and bad months.”

"While you're encouraging people to think about what goes into their mouths, just think a little harder about what comes out of yours," Corden concluded.

Whoopi Goldberg, Abby Huntsman, Sunny Hostin and Meghan McCain weighed in on the discussion, with Hostin relegating Maher's comments to his lack of understanding for the reasons people could be obese.

"There are a lot of socioeconomic characteristics that go on with it," she said. "There are food deserts in low-income and impoverished communities."

Noting that she has always been thin, Hostin said that poverty was the main factor in her family members being overweight.

"It was very difficult to get healthy, good food, Bill Maher... When you want to sort of pontificate about this stuff, think about why there are reasons why mothers are maybe not feeding their children the healthiest of foods. They're doing the best they can."

"I want to say if I weren't fat shamed, I wouldn't have a career," McCain said. "I'm fat shamed every day. Every day somebody on Twitter is like, 'You're too fat to be on 'The View.' It is so cruel."

McCain said she struggles with her weight, fluctuating between 20 to 30 pounds lighter or heavier at times. "We need to have compassion towards people who are struggling in life in general," she said.

"So much about obesity in this country is about poverty and access to health care. And so I think that was left out of it, but I'm conflicted because I wouldn't have met my husband if he weren't a guest on Bill Maher," McCain acknowledged. "I have a tiny place in my heart for Bill Maher."

Goldberg called attention to those with health issues -- specifically with regard to the thyroid -- that people might be unaware of that might also contribute to weight gain.

"You don't know who's suffering. You don't know why someone is the way that they are. So rather than shame them, if you really want to, like, try to find a way to help... Have a conversation before you get to the shaming part because you don't know how people live," Goldberg said.

Following Corden's three Emmy wins on Saturday, he told Entertainment Tonight that he has "nothing but respect for Bill Maher" and said "he's terrific." Corden continued, saying, "What Bill Maher does on his show, he sort of sees something he disagrees with and he talks about it. And that's all we did."

Maher was also in hot water in 2017 for using a racial slur on his show. He publicly apologized on his show, saying in-part, "I regret the word I used in the banter of a live moment. The word was offensive and I regret saying it and am very sorry.”

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