Comedian Fortune Feimster opens up about deciding to lose weight: 'If people are smacking your bare belly, there's a problem'

Megan Sims
Updated

Comedian Fortune Feimster does not shy away from talking about body image, as it’s a consistent topic she pokes fun at during various comedy routines. However, Feimster, who recently lost 40 pounds, revealed that it was not easy for her to be comfortable with her body.

In her first hour-long Netflix comedy special Fortune Feimster: Sweet & Salty, the North Carolina native tackles her struggles with body image and shares personal stories about her childhood and family and how she realized she was a lesbian.

“I don't know that any of us get to the place where we're completely comfortable [with ourselves],” she admitted on the BUILD Series stage in New York City. “Even the most beautiful, the thinest people I know are like, ‘Ugh, I hate my body.’ Like, what? I say that in my special. I was born 10 and a half pounds. I'm a big baby and so I was always a big kid. And you know when you're a kid it's hard because you're just trying to like fit in, but it's always been a part of who I am.”

Feimster noted that becoming comfortable with herself was necessary on her journey to making healthier choices.

“I think at some point you just have to be like, ‘Alright, this is who I am. What is the alternative? Hating myself.’ Why? Why do we want to do that? Why do you want to hate yourself? So find the love. Find a way to accept yourself for who you are. But also, ‘I can try to be healthier,’” she advised.

The comedian admitted that she and fiancé Jacquelyn Smith gained the infamous “love weight” while they were new lovebirds. But when they saw their engagement photos, the couple realized they needed to implement some healthier habits. Feimster also shared that an out-of-the-ordinary doctor’s appointment was a factor in her recent weight loss.

“People are shocked by this story and if you watch this special you can hear the whole thing,” she said. “I had a doctor smack my bare belly...But it definitely, like, set off this thing in my head of like, ‘All right...If people are smacking your bare belly, there's a problem.’ So, I was like, for the first time in my life I finally attempted to be healthy and what that looked like for someone like me who has never tried to be healthy — and it did have results. And it turns out that when you diet and exercise you lose weight — who knew?”

Check out Feimster’s Netflix comedy special, which premiered on Monday, for more body positivity.

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