David Foster is facing severe backlash after a resurfaced video showed him body shaming his wife, Katherine McPhee, in front of a live audience. In the clip, a picture of McPhee from her teenage years appears in the background. McPhee describes her younger self as ‘chubby,’ but Foster interjects, calling her ‘fat.’
“[People] may not know, we met 17, almost 18 years ago, when I was a little chubby and cheerful…a contestant on American Idol,” McPhee began. She pointed at her younger self and said, “Look at me smiling,” when Foster, the Canadian record producer, quipped, “Oh yeah. You were fat.” His insensitive comment was criticized, especially considering McPhee’s past struggles with bulimia. The video shows McPhee looking visibly uncomfortable and responding, “I was a little chubby, okay?” To which Foster says, “It’s true.” McPhee retorted, “I was just young,” as reported by USA Today.
Netizens expressed their disgust over Foster’s remark. One user on X commented, “David Foster (74) bluntly told his wife Katharine McPhee (40) that she was ‘fat’ when she was on American Idol. No wonder his ex-wife Yolanda is the O.G. ‘Almond mom.'” On Instagram, another user argued, “Proof that David Foster is the worst,” while someone else echoed, “David Foster would be a lonely man if he didn’t have any money.”
User @karen.t.marshall.16 added, “She’s his 4th or 5th wife. What makes her think he respects women? He left Yolanda at her sickest. She couldn’t take care of and focus all her energy on him, so he left.” According to People, this isn’t the first time Foster has stirred controversy with his comments. When McPhee posted about losing baby weight after the birth of their son, Rennie, in 2021, Foster again made an insensitive remark.
“I lost this baby weight without dieting. Zero. Diets are the worst and I’ve had zero pressure from anyone. I’ve let my body do its thing and found a great workout. That’s it. And guess what? I’ll probably gain weight again at some point too. Who cares? BUT people freaking out about what my husband captioned seriously get a life,” McPhee wrote. Foster had commented, “What baby!”
McPhee has openly reflected on her eating disorder. On Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy podcast, McPhee revealed, “I was suddenly so obsessed with food, starting from this first trimester, and I had such a distortion of the way that I looked.” It is evident that McPhee is conscious about her body image, and Foster’s ruthless comments may have only exacerbated her concerns, according to netizens.