Oh no she didn’t! South Shore Swimwear owner and designer Dana Duggan came under fire on Wednesday, April 5, for her scathing comments about Amy Schumer’s new swimsuit cover.
The controversy started after InStyle shared its May 2017 cover, which features Schumer, 35, clad in a stunning one-piece swimsuit and floating in clear blue waters.
“Comedy queen @AmySchumer makes a splash ? on the cover of our May Beauty Issue. Dive right in,” the magazine captioned the image. Fans praised the fashion magazine for showcasing a “real” woman on its cover (read: not a size 0 or 2) — but Duggan felt otherwise.
“Come on now! You could not find anyone better for this cover?” she commented from her company’s Instagram handle. “Not everyone should be in a swimsuit.” The comment ended with a vomit emoji at the end.
Fans of the comedian were quick to retaliate against Duggan and her critical comment. “@southshoreswimwear not everyone should be in a swimsuit?! Swimwear is not just for women who are a size 2!” one commenter wrote. “She is a real woman with a real body. Bravo to @instylemagazine for showcasing her. She looks beautiful.”
In a comment to the Huffington Post, Duggan defended her words, telling the site, “I appreciate the free press. It’s called freedom of speech. I can have my opinion, and you can have yours. I’m tired of the media and publications trying to push the fat agenda. It’s not healthy, and it’s not pretty. What is wrong with featuring healthy and fit cover models?”
Duggan further clarified her stance in an interview with Yahoo Style, saying that she is just being real with her comments. “I’m not fat-shaming anyone,” she said. “I’m not anti-inclusivity or anti–plus size. All I said was not everyone should be in a swimsuit on the cover of a magazine. I don’t think it was an attractive photo.”
The swimwear designer added that she herself is a size 14, but that she’s “not on the cover of a beauty magazine.” Duggan told Yahoo Style that the industry has changed a lot, given that modeling used to be “something you aspired to and didn’t see on the street,” but “now everyone wants their kid to be a model.”
