[A Weighty Matter]

In 1999 when fans saw Nick after the Boys brief hiatus, the BIG topic of conversation on messageboards, egoups and even some websites suddenly became, "OMG Nick is FAT!" That pissed me off to no end! Yes, he had gained some weight. I, for one, was happy about it. Many, it seems, weren't. Unfortunately, we can't control what people say and they will say whatever they want and the majority don't care who they hurt in the process.

Then Nick put on some more weight and suddenly that's all the media could talk about. Reading concert reviews that had comments like, "The fat blonde one needs to go on a diet…" was really upsetting to me so I can only imagine what it did to Nick. Even the father of a fan had the nerve to go up to Nick and ask him why he was fat and why didn't he work out and try to lose weight. I would've slapped his face.

At some point in 2000, Nick lost a bit of weight and suddenly people were saying that he lost too much weight so he must be doing drugs. Yes cause it would be so wrong to believe anything good about Nick.

It seemed that by early 2001, the fans had given up insulting him and suddenly the same ones that had been calling him "beer belly" and fat ass" were now saying, "cute chubby tummy" and "juicy booty." A lot of this was said after they had met him and he was nice to them, of course. Acceptance or hypocrisy?

Moving right along to this year. Nick loses 20 lbs... all those fans that loved the "chubby tummy" are now saying he looks so much better, but some are griping that he hasn't lost enough. He still needs to lose the tummy. Those same fans are now on his case if he has the nerve to eat a freakin' slice of Pizza or lick a slurpee. Every time he's seen with food, they're questioning it.

Can't the guy ever catch a freakin' break??? No wonder he looked so unhappy at times. Everything he does is never good enough for his "fans" and everything he does is dissected under a microscope. He DOES NOT need to be on a diet nor was he ever on one. He said he was eating healthier. That doesn't mean that he's been reduced to tofu and radishes with lettuce for dessert.

I've always been told that people who live to insult and hurt others are jealous and/or they don't feel good about themselves. They feel the need to put someone else down and hurt them in order to feel better about themselves.

I love Nick and I don't care whether he's 175 or 275 lbs. His happiness is all that matters and if anyone has seen the guy in the past few months, you can tell that he's happy. HE IS GLOWING!

As someone who has struggled with her weight for the past 10 years of her life, I know how much it hurts to have insults hurled at you from complete strangers. How much it pains to be judged on your weight alone. And how it feels to lose weight, only to be told it's not enough. Yes, we lose weight for ourselves, but everyone wants to be accepted. We are all human beings with hearts, no matter what size pants we wear.

- Marie-Alicia, September 18, 2002

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October 7, 2002:
This is the kind of SHIT that I was referring to above:
Star magazine reports Nick Carter was spotted by a group of pre-teen girls playing tennis in Los Angeles, where they asked the Backstreet Boys star for autographs. When the sweaty Nick took off his shirt, their interest changed. One girl gasped, "Look, he's fat!" pointing towards Carter's love handles. Her friends responded, "You're right. He IS fat!" The fickle fans made gaggin noises and quickly left the stunned singer, without any autographs.

THOSE GIRLS CAN KISS MY BIG LILY WHITE ASS! Ok, I feel somewhat better now.

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The Other Side... by Jenny

The reason I'm writing is to praise you on yet another job well done on your latest vent, this one being something I can relate to in an opposite way from most people. I will be 22 years old in October and have been thin my entire life. And although people may always want to be thin and think that skinny people have it easy, I assure those with that opinion that it's just not true. I have heard comments for as long as I can remember, even just yesterday, like "You are too skinny!" or "You look anorexic!" Now, I am currently at around 125 lbs, which I can honestly say I'm happy with. It took me until I was 14 before I was even over 100 and it's always been hard for me to gain weight. I spent years around friends who always wanted to go on diets while I kept trying to figure out how to gain weight. I could never say I was happy with my weight until almost two years ago when I first got to about what I weigh now. But even though I tell myself that I don't want to gain weight and I don't want to lose weight, that where I'm at is good, I still get so tired of the comments. I don't know if it's the jealously, anger, or what of the other people that make them say these things. But sometimes I wish I could just tell them all off!

I have always felt even more anger on this subject when I see and hear these comments toward Nick about his weight. I will always care for and defend Nick more than even myself and it breaks my heart to see him battle the things he does everyday of his life, just because he's "in the spotlight." He will always be handsome, talented, sweet, kind, gorgeous and all else that he is inside his heart no matter if he weighs 150 or 350. He's a beautiful person inside and out and if these people were true fans, they would understand that.

I just wish that all people, thick or thin, could get the respect they deserve instead of having to worry about how other people see them. Weight doesn't make a person who they are, it's what's inside their heart that counts.

Thank you for taking the time to read my words,
~*~Jenny~*~

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I'd like to thank Jenny for sharing her story. No matter if you are fat or thin, words can hurt. Too bad we can't see what's inside a person before we see the outside. If that were the case, the world would be a much better place to live. - Marie-Alicia, October 7, 2002