Plus-Size Model Kate Kope Reacts to Being Told She’s ‘Not That Fat’

Model Kate Kope is not here for fat-shaming — even when it’s subtle.

“There’s nothing quite like getting humbled on your early morning @delta flight,” Kope, 27, captioned a TikTok video shared earlier this week, in which she detailed an interaction she claimed she had with a woman sitting next to her on a plane.

“If you ever want to feel better about yourself — I got off a flight the other day and the woman sitting next to me asked what I did for a living,” Kope detailed in the video. “And I said, ‘Oh, I’m a curve model. Like, you know, plus size but not really — curve, that’s what they call it now in this era.’ And she goes, ‘Oh, can I see your Instagram?’”

She continued, “I was trapped — I didn’t want to show her, but I had no choice, so I show her my Instagram, she’s going through it, reels full volume, let everyone on the plane know of my embarrassing reels that I have to post for work, and she pulls up a photo of me in lingerie and she goes, ‘Oh, don’t worry, you’re not that fat.’”

The woman’s comment, according to Kope, is an example of what is wrong with the United States’ beauty standards, especially when those standards are applied to women.

@kate_kope

There’s nothing quite like getting humbled on your early morning @delta flight 🥲🫠 #curvemodel #plussize #plussizemodel #delta #travelstory

♬ original sound – Kate Kope

“Yes, thank you. Thank you. Yes, I know I’m not ‘that fat,’” she continued in the video. “That’s kind of the whole issue with the industry right now and just, like, the USA.”

In an interview with People published on Sunday, June 22, the model said she was not surprised by the exchange or the woman’s comment.

“I’m used to people not quite knowing what to say when I tell them I am a curve model,” Kope told the outlet. “In person, I am not at all what someone would consider as ‘curvy’ or ‘plus-size,’ so an awkward reaction often happens. I think people almost want to comfort me and let me know that I’m not fat, as if I have allowed the fashion industry to convince me otherwise for labeling me as a ‘curve’ model. So, I don’t take their inappropriate fractions to heart.”

Kope says she is a “true 10” in size, but can fluctuate from a size 8 to a size 14 on any given day.

She continued, “To many people, fat equals bad and skinny equals good, so these interactions just reveal more about how people perceive thinness in society and how they look at women’s bodies. Little do they know, I’ve done the mental work and no longer wish to strive for thinness as my life goal.”

As for the woman who made the comment, Kope says she doesn’t believe the stranger was trying to be rude or mean.

“We actually had an interesting conversation about many things,” she added. “Maybe I should have judged her more, but I truly let it roll off my back. I personally get more annoyed by younger people who make these comments because I expect millennials and Gen Z to be more aware.”