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Phillip Schofield slams woman, 22, who quit job to video herself scoffing 5,000 calorie meals
7 November 2019, 11:58 | Updated: 19 November 2019, 11:36
Phillip Schofield criticised a guest on This Morning who videos herself eating huge meals in a bid to become a YouTube star.
Charna Rowley appeared on the This Morning sofa today to explain why she packed in her full time job as an admin assistant to focus on eating Chinese takeaways and McDonalds.
The 22-year-old currently has over 40k subscribers on YouTube and creates a unique type of video known as Mukbang - which originated in South Korea - where people talk to their audience while binging on food.
In order to spend more time on building her following, Charna decided to quit her job and supports her eating with a part-time warehouse job.
Explaining the reason behind her career choice, Charna told hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield: “When I first started Youtube I wanted to do makeup, but it didn’t feel like what I wanted to do.
“But then I found Mukbang and I just loved watching the videos.”
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Charna then went on to explain that sometimes her followers request she eats different takeaways such as KFC or pizza, and she can consume up to 5,500 calories in one sitting.
But Phil, 57, was visibly unimpressed with the idea and insisted that he’d “never watch the videos” because he hates looking at people who eat with their mouths open.
He then said: “Is this a case of you’ll do anything to be famous?”
When the young woman then insisted she didn’t set out to be famous but did it out of enjoyment, the presenter hit back: “So why be out there eating at all? Why does the world need to see this?”
Charna replied that it was “never initially about money”, before Phil said: “But you’ve spent £1000 on food?”
Mum-of-three Holly, 38, then went on to ask the YouTube star if she ever worried about her health when consuming that many calories in one go, as Phil questioned whether she’d put on weight.
But Charna insisted that she doesn’t always eat 5k calories and only does the challenges once or twice a week, while the rest of the time she works out at the gym and eats healthier meals.
This Morning’s Dr Zoe later expressed concern that it wasn’t just about Charna’s calorie intake, and said the food she’s consuming is “full of toxins” and can increase the risk of diabetes, strokes and even cancer.
Following the controversial chat, viewers at home were totally divided, as one wrote: “Why would you want to sit and watch people binge eat?”
While another responded: “I love watching mukbangs and it’s not just about the eating it’s about the talks they have while eating and some do questions and answers while doing them too.”
