Kim Kardashian must stop endorsing dangerous 'slimming' products that cause harm (2024)

I KNOW our PM is up to her neck in Brexit baloney, which means far too many other important issues are being kicked into the long grass.

But fair play to her for taking the time to address the disturbing problem of celebrities who endorse daft and even dangerous diet fads.

Mrs May takes a very dim view of these shenanigans.

During PM’s Questions this week, looking and sounding uncannily like my formidable former headmistress, she warned celebrities to think “very carefully” about the potential health problems they could be inflicting on gullible fans.

I would go a lot further.

Young women and men in the public eye with hundreds of thousands of social media followers, in some cases millions, have a real responsibility to be mindful of what they are peddling to fans.

If they take a big cheque or freebies to endorse a so-called “slimming” product that causes harm or encourages eating disorders in any way they must be held to account.

There was, quite rightly, a furore last year when one of the Kardashian clan posted an image online with a ludicrous “appetite suppressant” lollipop.

'QUICK FIX'

Kim Kardashian, who is never one to turn down a money-making opportunity, posed suggestively with the product, calling it “literally unreal”.

There was a huge backlash from medical experts and women fed-up of being told everyone should strive to be stick thin and that weight is the only measure of self- worth and attractiveness.

This blatant advertising from so-called “influencers” can be potentially damaging and is on the rise.

Women — and young girls especially — are bombarded with unrealistic and often manipulated images and they inevitably compare themselves to these visions of perfection.

We all know diets don’t work. They make you unhappy, hungry and fixated on food.

Lorraine Kelly

Sadly, it seems far too many would rather take advice from a celebrity being paid to advertise an appetite suppressant than a health professional.

This was Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and the Government is finally waking up and taking steps to police social media platforms and ensure young people are not in danger.

'I WAS FURIOUS'

A big part of their plan is to check celebrities take proper responsibility for their endorsem*nts.

I hope they also crack down on the internet chancers who take advantage of people who are so desperate to lose weight they will clutch at even the silliest straw.

A few years ago I was furious when I was the victim of a scam by a company that used a photo of me in a bikini to flog their worthless “diet tea”.

They inferred I had lost weight by drinking this bilge. I was so angry that vulnerable people would either be conned into purchasing this ridiculous product — or believe I could ever stoop to such a thing.

IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE

I was also fuming they were trying to take credit for all the hard work I put in exercising and eating sensibly, by making out that I had toned up by being on their stupid diet.

We all know diets don’t work. They make you unhappy, hungry and fixated on food.

It’s all about balance.

I wanted to have a healthier lifestyle and a longer life, so I cut down drastically on junk food and got up off my bum and joined an exercise class that I now love.

Of course, I understand that everyone wants a quick fix — and wouldn’t it be amazing if we could just take a pill that miraculously melted away all our fat and then left us looking like Elle Macpherson.

But we can’t.

There’s only one sure recipe for losing weight and that’s eating less junk and moving about more.

As Mrs May and those meerkats would say — simples!

You be Jacko judges

I HAD to force myself to watch a preview of the upcoming Michael Jackson documentary, Leaving Neverland.

I felt sickened as two grown men quietly but determinedly told how their childhoods were stolen by one of the planet’s most famous entertainers.

Wade Robson and James Safechuck were, in turn, handpicked by Jackson to be his “favourite”.

James was ten and Wade seven.

The superstar lavished gifts on them and their families, taking them on tour and inviting them to Neverland.

Wade and James say he sexually abused them in Neverland, and their graphic descriptions are shocking.

I know Jackson cannot defend himself now, and he was never found guilty in court.

Shame on the starstruck parents, especially mums, who were so blinded by star power and their own ambition that they allowed their children to sleep in a grown man’s bed

Lorraine KellySun Columnist

His family deny all of the accusations. But I would ask people to watch this documentary, then make up their own minds.

Jackson diehards will insist he was a saint, yet being super talented – and Jackson was – does not make you a flawless person.

I believe Wade and James – and they explain why they never brought charges and why it took them so long to tell their stories.

They have been accused of money-grabbing but weren’t paid a penny for the interviews.

If even a tiny part of what they say is true, shame on the aides and those who knew what was going on yet said nothing.

Shame on the starstruck parents, especially mums, who were so blinded by star power and their own ambition that they allowed their children to sleep in a grown man’s bed.

See the two-parter on Channel 4 this Wednesday and Thursday, both nights at 9pm. I doubt you will ever view the man and his music in quite the same way again.

Lady Gaga and Madonna pals finally

LADY GAGA ended up In Bed With Madonna for a post- Oscars photoshoot that saw them finally kiss and make up after all the bad blood of previous years.

Madge has been very sniffy about her rival in the past, has accused her of being a copycat and has indulged in undignified and unnecessary bitchy meowings.

Now that Lady Gaga is the first woman to win a Grammy, a Bafta, a Golden Globe and an Oscar in the same year, for her work on A Star Is Born, maybe Madonna has realised she is a truly formidable talent and it is time to bury the hatchet.

Snarky commentators have said it’s also the closest Madge will ever get to the aforementioned Oscar.

Unkind, but when you look at Madonna’s patchy movie career, probably true.

Louis' mother would be so proud

MY heart goes out to Louis Tomlinson.

He has poured his soul into his new single The Two Of Us, which deals with the death of his beloved mother.

The former One Direction star is obviously having a tough time coming to terms with losing mum Johannah Deakin, only 43, to ­leukaemia almost three years ago. The two were very close.

He sings poignantly that he wishes he had died instead of her and vows to live one life for the two of them.

On a bit of a brighter note, he says recording the song was therapy and he hopes it will help others going through the same pain.

It’s a song that will strike a chord with anyone who has suffered the loss of someone they love.

I’m sure Johannah would be very proud of her boy.

Heart goes out to John Michie

I HAVE been haunted by the tragedy of Holby star John Michie’s daughter Louella, who was given class A drugs by her boyfriend.

Ceon Broughton was jailed for eight-and-a-half years after being found guilty of manslaughter.

He could easily have saved Louella, who overdosed on the hallucinogenic drug.

Instead, he filmed her as she died.

He wouldn’t seek medical help for Louella as he was scared he would be caught for breaching a suspended jail sentence.

What a snivelling coward.

John confronted Broughton outside the courtroom, calling him “evil”. I think John was remarkably restrained.

Along with his wife Carol and surviving daughter Daisy they have had to sit in court and listen to graphic details of Louella’s death.

John and his family are serving a life sentence mourning for Louella.

Ed wed shows his loyalty

ED SHEERAN is one of the world’s most famous musicians.

Yet he is so grounded that he married his childhood sweetheart in a quiet, simple ceremony just before Christmas.

It says much that the 40 or so close friends and family at the ceremony didn’t rush to flog the pictures.

That loyalty is priceless.