Time magazine is getting mercilessly mocked over an article about “the white supremacist origins of exercise” that claims racism was the motivator for the fitness movement.
The mag ran the eye-catching headline Wednesday based on a chat with author Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, the associate professor of history at New York’s The New School.
In the interview, the self-styled “scholar, writer, teacher and activist” insisted that being fat used to be “desirable” — and the push to work out in the 20th century was racism at work.
The idea “that women should be lifting weights and gaining strength” started because racists thought that “white women should start building up their strength because we need more white babies,” she claimed.
“This is totally part of a white supremacy project,” insisted Petrzela, calling it “a real ‘holy crap’ moment” in her research for her upcoming book, “Fit Nation: The Gains and Pains of America’s Exercise Obsession.”
She also told Time that free exercise plans like running were “never totally equal” because “people of color were thought to be committing a crime.”
The article — and specifically its blaring headline — was quickly roasted online, with many tweeting clown-face emojis and suggesting they assumed the headline was from satirical sites like the Onion or the Babylon Bee.
Among those ripping and ridiculing the article were prominent black fitness influencers and authors.
“First math was a tool of white supremacy. Now it’s exercise. Pretty soon, food is gonna be a tool to continue systemic racism oppression,” former heavyweight boxer Ed Latimore wrote while sharing the article.
British rapper Zuby, who wrote a book about fitness called “Strong Advice,” said it would “eviscerate every remaining shred of [Time’s] credibility and perceived legitimacy.”
“It doesn’t anger me at all. It’s so goofy I consider it satire,” he wrote.
“We all know that only Nazis work out of course.”
One of his followers replied with a map, saying that he “typed in ‘gyms near me’ and my God! Boulder, Colorado is a hub of Nazi meeting places!”
Exercise author Dave Champion also shared the article, writing: “According to Time Magazine, when I exercise each day I’m engaging in a white supremacist activity.”
Some asked where the wokeness would end. “Proper nutrition is a KKK plot? ‘The Nazi roots of concern for handwashing’? What * is * this???” one doctor tweeted.
Others joked that it was justification to “stop exercising and become a fat lard a– POS” to avoid being racist.
“Precisely. The only way to fight against the white supremacy roots of exercise is by leading a sedentary life,” evolutionary behavioral scientist Gad Saad quipped
“Say no to exercise as a means of being an ally to people of color.”
Others, meanwhile, used it to further poke fun at those not known for their healthy habits and fit physiques.
“Did TIME just prove that [former President] Trump isn’t a white supremacist?” one person joked.
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