How it must feel to be Nicole Arbour

Go here for a summary of her offenses.

“I have always been attractive. I was just lucky that way. Most of my life I got ahead because I fit the arbitrary norms that society decided were desirable. I got more attention than others, especially more than other women. People wanted to know me. People always wanted to meet me. At one point I realized that people want a lot of things from attractive people, and assume a lot of things. I resented being valued for my looks, but I was addicted to the attention it brought me. I decided that I would change the narrative, that people paid attention to me because I was funny. I would perform and they would like me. At least that’s doing something.

I tried being funny for a long time, but I wasn’t great at it. I was okay, but not great. But once again my looks got me ahead of more than most that want to do comedy. They say you should do what you know, so a lot of my comedy was about my attractiveness, because that is what I am usually valued for. It only took me so far. I just wasn’t getting the attention I wanted, or history was repeating itself: I got gigs because people found me attractive, not funny. So I had to do something more than funny. I had to get attention, no matter how I got it.

Fat people are an easy target; and I really resent that they have failed at something that has come easy to me. It’s time to forget political correctness. I will get attention for what I think will be “telling it like it is.” People are afraid to say these things, so I will be the one to do it for them. There will also be haters. But when people hate something it must be because what I have to say is important. Getting youtube hits for something spectacular is not any different from getting hits for hate watches. Either way, hits are hits.

People will be offended. I will get hate mail. I will be censored. But at least people are listening. People are watching. And finally, it’s not just because I am attractive, but it is because I have become a professional asshole. I will have made an impact, I am noticed. I matter.”

For more essential commentary, sign up for my email-only blog at tinyletter.com/robinhardwick..