Phatabulous Magazine

Willpower or Wellness? Mo’Nique’s Warning on GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs By Phatabulous Magazine When Mo’Nique speaks, she doesn’t whisper. She testifies. The Oscar-winning actress and comedian recently shared her concerns about the growing popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, questioning whether we are sacrificing something deeper than pounds on the scale. “What is the long-term effects? What will it do to your body? Your mind? What will it do to us five years from now, 10 years from now?” she asked in a heartfelt video. “They’re taking away our willpower. They’re taking away our fight.” Her message wasn’t just about medication. It was about autonomy. About discipline. About self-trust. And for many in the plus-size community, her words landed heavy. GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro were originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes. They mimic a hormone that regulates blood sugar and appetite, helping people feel full faster and longer. In recent years, they’ve beco...

Phases, Freedom & the Evolution of Body Positivity For over a decade, Gabriella Lascano built a platform rooted in self-love. In 2010, long before brand deals and viral TikToks, Lascano began posting on YouTube. She has shared that from a young age, “I always knew I was bigger.” She dreamed of being a star but believed her size would disqualify her. Online, however, she found something different: a community of plus-size women who felt empowered seeing someone who looked like them living boldly. “That just made me feel like I had a bigger purpose in what I was creating,” she said in a recent opinion video. With more than 600,000 followers across platforms, Lascano became part of a digital wave that helped redefine beauty standards. She spoke about confidence, fashion, and taking up space without apology. For many women, the body positivity movement felt like paradise — no pressure to shrink, no demand to conform. But over time, her perspective shifted. Three years ago, Lascano post...

Ask Candace Is Back - #2 There’s something powerful about questions that linger. A while back, we invited readers to write in, about love, bodies, confidence, boundaries, and the quiet thoughts that don’t always make it into group chats. The responses came. Some arrived quickly. Others trickled in over time. And a few sat with me for a while, waiting for the right moment. That moment is now. Ask Candace was always meant to be a space where honesty could breathe. Not perfection. Not performance. Just real conversations about navigating life in a body, and a world, that often has too many opinions. Since our last column, so much has shifted. Bodies are being policed again. Thinness is being repackaged as “wellness.” Dating feels heavier. Many of us are healing, unlearning, starting over, and redefining confidence on our own terms. So we’re bringing Ask Candace back, not because I have all the answers, but because sometimes what we need most is to be reminded that we’re not alone, not bro...

Lizzo, The Epstein Files & Why Folks Just Aren’t Taking Her Seriously By Candace L. Smith Let’s talk. And I mean REAL talk. Last week, the internet went into full-on chaos mode after millions of pages tied to the Jeffrey Epstein case were released by the U.S. Department of Justice. These documents — dubbed the Epstein Files — are a mish-mash of materials: some are official reports, others are unverified tips, and many are raw notes or intake calls logged by law enforcement over years. That’s key: being named in these files doesn’t equate to guilt, charges, or even investigation — sometimes it’s just someone’s claim, nothing more. Context matters.  Into this fire stepped Lizzo — the Grammy-winning musician who’s no stranger to controversy these past couple of years. In a now-viral TikTok clip (which many say she deleted after backlash), Lizzo seemed to lean into defending Jay-Z and even pushing back on folks connecting high profile names to the Epstein documents without context....