YouTube comedian Nicole Arbour continues to offend

Nicole Arbour has once again resorted to offensive and hasty judgments in her latest YouTube video, “Why abortion is wrong.”

Arbour, a YouTube comedienne of recent infamy, came into the public eye when several stars took to the website to voice their disdain at a video she posted about her view on fat shaming. 

In her newest video, she begins, “Today we are going to talk about abortions because it has been tearing up my insides. Sorry, that was sick.” Contrary to the title, Arbour defended the practice of abortion and attempted to make an argument supporting her stance. 

Unfortunately, the attempt turned disastrous as Arbour began theorizing about the issue. She said, “Some kids were supposed to be aborted, and the ones who weren’t (aborted) turned into murderers and crazy people.”

She continued with, “I’m convinced that if more kids were aborted, less kids would be on ADD drugs. Not because those kids need them, but because the parents didn’t want to have kids and don’t want to deal with their energy.”

This is not the first time Arbour has created uproar with her videos. On Sept. 3, her six- minute video titled “Dear Fat People” sparked national outrage. Celebrities, like “Empire’s” Gabourey Sidibe, have voiced their discontent with the video.

“I think she is incredibly ignorant,” Sidibe said of Arbour at an event in New York City. “She’s wrong about me — and, she’s wrong about a lot of us.”

In the video, Arbour claims fat shaming is the advent of those who are obese and that shaming those who are overweight is, in fact, a good idea. She believes fat people should be humiliated until they choose to lose weight. 

Arbour claims her critique is her way of expressing concern about the health of those facing weight problems. Sadly, she does not appear to be concerned with the relationship between mental health and body image. 

“I’m talking about the 35 percent of North Americans that are obese,” Arbour said. “That means that you are so fat that you are affecting your own health.”

According to psychologist Annabelle Ryburn during an interview with KidsMatter, having poor self-esteem and a sense of low self-worth will often result in emotional distress. A study conducted at the University College London showed weight discrimination accounts for 40 percent of harmful psychological effects associated with obesity.

The results of this distress can lead to issues such as eating disorders, which affect up to 30 million Americans, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.

Arbour’s video is simply another form of discrimination and cyberbullying. She is not apologetic whatsoever for her video and has defended herself multiple times, including during an interview on The View where she claimed, “That video was made to offend people, just the way I do with all the other videos. It’s just satire.”

However, the hosts of The View, many of whom have built careers as comediennes, disagreed with her tactic. In fact, they openly dismissed her defense. Co-host Michelle Collins said, “We’re comedians. I watched you and I was asking, ‘Where is the satire?’ This is borderline bullying.” 

Arbour, however, stands by her claim and plans to continue her analysis of controversial topics, as shown with the release of “Why abortion is wrong.” 

Belittling someone is neither humorous nor productive. Acknowledging an issue is very different from spewing hate under the pretense of comedy, but Arbour doesn’t seem to know it. 

 

Camila Yori is a sophomore majoring in sociology.