Marie Claire Sparks Controversy Over Obese People on TV

"I think I'd be grossed out if I had to watch two characters with rolls and rolls of fat kissing each other." Kelly said, " ...because I'd be grossed out if I had to watch them doing anything. To be brutally honest, even in real life, I find it aesthetically displeasing to watch a very, very fat person simply walk across a room."

Kelly has since issued an apology in which she called her comments insensitive, unnecessary and unproductive. Editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Joanna Coles said to Fashionista.com, "Maura Kelly is a very provocative blogger. She was an anorexic herself and this is a subject she feels very strongly about."

"I feel protective and angry about people being loose-lipped. I guess hateful is the only way to describe [the post]," said "Mike & Molly" creator Mark Roberts in an interview with "The Hollywood Reporter." "Almost everybody I know struggles with something -- whether it's their weight or alcohol or temper. To stand in judgment of somebody -- especially when you're breaking it down to just the aesthetic. It just makes me sad."

Kelly's piece was a response to a story on CNN in which the writer asked the question "Can plus-sized actors have starring roles in which their weight isn't a major part of the character or story line?" Her own response: "Fat chance." "Mike & Molly" and the recently canceled "Huge" are both shows in which weight plays a central role. "Huge" took place at a weight-loss camp, and "Mike & Molly" is full of fat jokes.

Though both shows addressed the weight issue, both were fundamentally about more important ideas. Neither ignored the fact that there are health implications to being morbidly obese, yet as in life, there is infinitely more to what makes up a person than a number on the scale.

The question that needs to be answered is where are the average-sized people on TV? Do we only have to chose between size zero and obese? Do we only want to watch people who are either an unrealistic size "perfect" or the polar opposite, and therefore worthy of our judgment? Why not show us all as we really are, in every size? Television should reflect what we look like, and to that end "Mike & Molly" is a step in the right direction.

The show isn't "implicitly promoting obesity" like Kelly says, but rather implicitly promoting diversity. The message is that there are people of all shapes and sizes, and we are all real people with real feelings. But we should be going further.

In the end, It is a sweet show about two people falling in love. Check out this video of Mike and Molly sharing their first kiss: I dare you not to relate.

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