Fact Check

The phrase “nothing tastes pretty much as good as skinny feels” perhaps perfectly represents the style industry trend toward showcasing waif-thin models. But where did it come from?

The statement was lifted from a 2009 interview with supermodel Kate Moss within the magazine Women’s Wear Each day. And the famously bony Moss received intense backlash from advocates fighting eating disorders.

Moss’s original full statement wasn’t the unambiguous support for caloric restriction that the mantra, by itself, appears like. She was asked by the magazine’s interviewer whether she had a motto, and she or he appeared to be attempting to provide you with a response.

“There are loads. There’s, ‘Nothing tastes pretty much as good as skinny feels.’ That’s considered one of them. You are attempting and remember, but it surely never works.”

In a 2018 interview on NBC with Megyn Kelly, Moss seemed regretful of the comment, saying, “Oh God,” when Kelly brought it up.

Moss said it was something she and her friends would say after they were living together. “We might go for the biscuits,” after which repeat the phrase. She called it “just a bit of jingle” they might share.

Sources:

Costello, Brid. “Kate Moss: The Waif That Roared.” WWD, 13 Nov. 2009, https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/kate-moss-the-waif-that-roared-2367932/.

Helmore, Edward. “’Heroin Chic’ and the Tangled Legacy of Photographer Davide Sorrenti.” The Guardian, 23 May 2019. The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/may/23/heroin-chic-and-the-tangled-legacy-of-photographer-davide-sorrenti.

“Kate Moss Regrets ‘nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels’ Comment.” BBC News, 14 Sept. 2018. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-45522714.

Press, The Associated. “Kate Moss Criticized for Saying ‘Nothing Tastes as Good as Skinny Feels.’” Al, 20 Nov. 2009, https://www.al.com/scenesource/2009/11/kate_moss_criticized_for_sayin.html.