‘Save America from obesity one person at a time’: Who is Liv Schmidt? The weight loss TikToker’s Ban, explained
Liv Schmidt made headlines when TikTok banned the influencer from their platform due to her controversial weight loss advice.
Many believed the influencer was promoting disordered eating, sharing several tips on how to stay skinny and avoid weight gain. Her content showcased her unhealthy devotion (obsession?) to staying thin. Since then, Liv Schmidt has opened a new TikTok, and people are more interested in her than ever.
Who is Liv Schmidt?
Liv Schmidt is a 22-year-old social media influencer and office worker. She resides in New York City. Prior to her account being banned, she had over 700,000 followers on TikTok. Her content revolved around fitness and diet tips, as well as vlogs that showcased what she eats in a day.
The problem? Liv Schmidt is just an ordinary office worker with an infatuation with dangerous beauty standards. Throughout the years, the internet has debunked the need for dietary supplements, and yet these are the things she promotes on her platform. Of course, the influencer also showcases her workouts and talks what she eats. However, her content has come out as “thinspo”— term used by those in ED (eating disorder) sides of the internet to describe something as inspiration to stay thin. This is extremely dangerous, as it pushes people to go to dangerous lengths to shed some pounds or maintain their low weight.
Before going viral, her followers comprised of people who fawned at her for diet tips. After getting banned, however, people soon called Schmidt out for her unhealthy obsession with staying thin. Throughout the years, we have gone a long way as a society on how we perceive body image, and just when we were reaching a point where we accept and love all body types, influencers like Schmidt take us back to the time where skinny reigned supreme. There’s nothing wrong with being skinny, but there is something wrong with going to immense lengths to become skinny while disregarding your health and nutrition. After getting banned, Scmidt has since made a new TikTok and continues to post on Instagram and YouTube.
Liv Schmidt defends her content amid backlash
Despite being banned on TikTok and the resounding backlash over her posts, Schmidt does not seem to think her content is problematic. She told the Wall Street Journal, “For me and my personal aesthetic, I like to be skinny, and there’s nothing wrong with that.” She told the outlet that her goal was to “save America from obesity one person at a time.”
She added that she is also not a health freak, stating she has no food items that are off-limits. “I’m not dairy-free. I’m not vegan. I’m not gluten-free,” she states. She added that she previously battled body dysphoria, telling the outlet, “If you look around and every single person around you is blonde and skinny, you’re gonna definitely feel more peer pressure to fit into that stereotype.” Schmidt herself is blonde and skinny, so it begs the question if she forced herself to fit into that box, or it is something she already was.
Schmidt stated that she was upset by TikTok’s decision to ban her from the platform. She believes that people have the option to follow or block any type of content that makes them uncomfortable. It appears Schmidt is continuing full-force with her goal to save America from obesity with her short-form videos. The internet is waiting to see if she’ll be able to complete her mission, or if more platform will take down hers—and other “thinspo” creators—content.
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