Among all the subjects ever featured on TLC’s My 600-lb Life, very few could be considered as memorable as Steven John Assanti. Bold, brazen, and rude to his family and hospital staff, Steven was easily one of the most aggravating cases ever featured on the hit reality TV show. Since his featured episode aired, however, Steven has been on a social media crusade, seemingly in an attempt to fix his image and explain his actions on the show. Recently, Steven even went so far as to defend the radical treatment he experienced under Dr. Now, stating that the weight loss expert was not in the wrong. Apart from this, Steven also opened up about his mother, who was only briefly mentioned in his featured episode.

Steven Assanti was featured on a special two-part episode of My 600-lb Life, and he was uncooperative all throughout. He was abusive to hospital staff, incredibly ungrateful to his enabling father, and defiant to Dr. Now and his methods. Even after his original feature, Steven accused My 600-lb Life of being a scam through social media, and though he quickly deleted his post, numerous fans of the hit reality TV show were able to take screenshots of his accusations. Since then, however, Steven has toned down his aggression online, becoming far more respectful and pleasant to those communicating with him.

Faced with Steven’s uncooperative and downright combative attitude, Dr. Now stepped away from the box during the elder Assanti sibling’s second episode. In a move that drew criticisms from many viewers and anti-body shaming groups, Dr. Now made Steven look at himself in the mirror to assert the fact that the aspiring reality TV star was completely letting himself go, according to a Blasting News report. At that moment, Steven’s cocky attitude dissipated, and he appeared humbled. While Dr. Now’s decision to make Steven look at himself in the mirror proved effective, anti-body shaming groups stated that the medical expert went too far in his approach.

Despite this, however, Steven had spoken about the issue on his personal Facebook page, stating that he did not feel body-shamed at all when Dr. Now made him face the mirror. According to the elder Assanti sibling, the weight loss expert never took it too far, as he really needed a reality check during that time.

“I’ve been reading articles on me and I want to clear this up. My doctor Dr. Nowazardon [sic] did not fat shame putting me in front of that mirror and he didn’t take it to [sic] far. I’m actually glad he did that because that was a wake-up call. No human being is suppose [sic] to look like that and have elephant size [sic] legs. It’s completely unhealthy, it really is and people need to know that. It’s fixable it’s not ok to live like this because you will die very young and that will be a very sad situation.”

Apart from this, Steven has also posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Dr. Now, stating that the moment was special for him. Needless to say, many netizens congratulated him on finally making progress on his journey towards recovery. Others, however, have remained skeptical, stating that Steven might simply be trying to attract attention to himself once more.

Steven has also recently opened up about his mother on his Facebook page. During the course of his two-part feature, Steven was depicted as having issues with his mother. So much so that he said some very negative statements about her. In his recent Facebook post, however, the elder Assanti sibling confessed that everything he said about his mother on the hit reality TV show was a lie. In a rather rare act of humility, Steven apologized.

“I love my mother very much. Everything I said on the show about her was a lie. I apologize.”

Whether Steven’s apology was sincere or not remains to be seen. However, it is difficult not to give credit to the aspiring reality TV star for his openness to viewers and avid fans of the hit reality TV show. While Steven’s journey to recovery is still a long way ahead, the My 600-lb Life patient seems to be progressing on his journey, one step at a time.

[Featured Image by TLC]