‘600-Lb. Life’: Is The Shower Scene Still Necessary?

After 11 seasons of My 600-Lb. Life, fans are starting to ask: is the shower scene still necessary?

With a show like My 600-Lb. Life, production has to consider a balance between showing the harsh reality of participant’s lives and respecting their dignity. Critics of the show call production’s methods exploitative. Fans call it necessary. But in 2023, is it time to change how they treat the participants? Read on to hear the discussion swirling around the infamous shower scenes.

TLC Shows The Daily Struggles Of Participant’s Lives

On TLC’s My 600-Lb. Life, people grapple with their inner demons. Stars weigh anywhere from 400 to 700 pounds or more. As a result, they often find daily basic self-care to be challenging.

As part of the show’s typical practices, they film participants going through their day-to-day lives. This means showing how they sleep, how they eat, and how they go to the bathroom or clean themselves. Fans of the show have long been divided on whether or not some of the brutally revealing scenes are necessary.

For instance, showing how participants wipe themselves after using the restroom is often criticized as invasive and dehumanizing. But there’s one particular staple scene that has fans really questioning whether or not it’s time to change the show‘s format.

Are The Shower Scenes Still Necessary To Showcase Struggles On My 600-Lb. Life?

While it’s clear that the production crew wants to show off the struggles of the show’s stars, some fans wonder if there’s a line they shouldn’t cross.

Recently, a fan discussion online brought up a long-controversial practice of the show: filming the stars in the shower. Nearly every person who stars in their own episode on My 600-Lb. Life is filmed cleaning themselves. Or at least, trying to. Many of the stars have limited or no mobility, and rely on others to perform basic daily tasks.

This means that videos showing them in the shower often appear awkward or difficult. For other stars, family members struggle to clean their loved ones amid their weight crisis. Fans have long wondered if it’s really necessary after all these years. One wrote, “I agree with critics that some of the choices made by the production are pretty awful.” They call the shower scenes “degrading” and “exploitative.” Commenters agreed, calling the scenes “humiliating” and said it’s been done enough and should stop. A few commenters suggested that it’s a necessary evil, to force participants to face their own harsh reality.

Some suggested that those who film shower scenes receive an extra amount of money to participate. Whatever the show’s reason for continuing the shower scenes, they have become a staple in the series and aren’t likely to stop any time soon.

Do you think it’s time to cut the shower scenes for good in My 600-Lb. Life? Or does the reality tv show have a good reason to keep showing them? Sound off in the comments, and catch the show on TLC.