Cosmopolitan was slammed by readers on Tuesday for running a story suggesting that cancer could be an effective weight loss method.
According to the Page Six, the magazine tweeted an article with the headline “How This Woman Lost 44 Pounds Without Any Exercise,” linking to a profile of a woman who was unable to exercise due to multiple surgeries.
The story explained that 31-year-old Simone Harbinson was forced to undergo numerous medical treatments for a kidney infection, “malignant carcinoid tumor of the appendix” and a damaged disc in her spine.
Twitter users slammed the magazine for taking a frivolous angle on a woman’s serious medical issues. “Cancer is not a diet plan. Delete this,” wrote one incensed reader.
Cosmo did in fact delete the tweet, and the article has since been revised with the new headline “A Serious Health Scare Helped Me Love My Body More Than Ever.”
Page Six also reports that a line has since been removed from the story: “Simone’s weight loss success is proof that ANYONE can lose weight without breaking a sweat simply by eating more mindfully — no gym required.”
See more reactions to the story below:
Cancer is not a diet plan. Delete this. https://t.co/G6onc506ud
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) April 11, 2017
Cosmo headline: "How to lose 20 lbs INSTANTLY without exercising AT ALL!!!"
In article: cut off one of your limbs
— good opinion haver (@gattjacob) April 12, 2017
https://twitter.com/Real_KatiePerry/status/852242875572260865
https://twitter.com/stavvers/status/851811883841724416
https://twitter.com/RupertMyers/status/851812122682167296
She had cancer, you absolute dicks. Another nail in journalism's coffin. pic.twitter.com/anlqN9ZUaW
— Mike (@Mike_P_Williams) April 11, 2017
Looks like Cosmo has deleted this tweet.
[whispers into the wind] she had a rare form of cancer https://t.co/9cPiBsRpCe pic.twitter.com/fu4fXAMZBC
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) April 11, 2017