Show caption CupcakKe posted on Twitter: ‘Jesus fasted for 40 days & so did I ...’ Photograph: Publicity image Opinion Eating disorders have been rebranded as ‘fasting’. But they are as dangerous as ever Arwa Mahdawi Chicago rapper CupcakKe has been criticised for social media posts about her month on a water fast. It’s tech gurus who led the way in this irresponsibility Tue 19 Nov 2019 14.51 GMT Share on Facebook

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CupcakKe is a 22-year-old Chicago rapper famous for highly explicit sex-positive songs, including one about SpongeBob SquarePants. She has also been upfront about her various mental health issues. In September, CupcakKe (née Elizabeth Harris) abruptly announced she was retiring from music in an Instagram Live stream in which she said she was worried about “corrupting the youth” and that the music industry would never accept her because of her size.

After a hiatus from social media, CupcakKe reappeared last week. “Jesus fasted for 40 days & so did I …” she posted on Twitter. She followed this a couple of days later with a picture of herself and the caption: “Water fast for past month & here’s my results.”

Many of CupcakKe’s more than 511,000 Twitter followers were alarmed at her drastic dieting – and told her as much. The British actor and activist Jameela Jamil, who seems to feel obliged to weigh in on every single body-image issue, swooped in to comment. “Please take this down,” she urged. “It’s just very unsafe.” Jamil later apologised for being judgmental, telling CupcakKe: “I should have done more to protect you rather than bring you stress.”