‘No one is laughing’: Why the ‘chubby’ filter going viral on TikTok is dangerous

Experts have slammed a filter going viral on TikTok, which makes people appear overweight. Here’s why it’s dangerous.

Australia’s leading body-image charity has condemned a controversial new TikTok trend that makes people appear overweight.

The viral AI-generated “chubby” filter has been doing the rounds this week, drawing criticism from the Butterfly Foundation and prompting social media users to call for a ban.

The trend encourages people to upload photos of themselves using an AI filter on video editing app CapCut to see what they would look like if they were larger, over a slowed-down version of Doechii’s music track Anxiety.

A series of the videos have been posted to TikTok, including one of British influencer Demi Jane’s body slowly becoming larger with almost 13 million views, captioned: “If this doesn’t scare me into sticking to the gym, I don’t know what will.”

Another joked about how the filter made her look, captioning the video, which has 1.2 million views: “I am screaming where did my neck go pls.”

The not-so-clever punchline is that they’re laughing about how funny it would be if they were fat.

People are uploading pictures of themselves on TikTok using an AI filter to see what they’d look like if they were overweight. Picture: TikTok @demi_jane1

British influencer Demi Jane, who participated in the trend, has copped backlash over her “fatphobic” caption. Picture: TikTok @demi_jane1

To no one’s surprise, it didn’t take long before it came under fire from other users on the platform, with one slamming it as “beyond disrespectful” and “such a step back in society’s beauty standards”.

“Literally when did we start body shaming again? Why are we going backwards in 2025!!” another wrote.

“Why are we just flat out shaming bigger girls? Whilst you’re laughing about how you look with that filter on, many girls actually look like that,” a third posted.

Among them was Adelaide-born Love Island star Mia Dalkos, who called for it to be banned altogether in a video with over 173,000 views.

“It feels wrong and sick,” she said. “This trend is weird, let’s stop doing it. We need to stop as a community (...) it’s not nice.”

Fatshaming is trending … again

For the uninitiated, people are uploading photos of themselves using an AI filter on video editing app CapCut to see what they’d look like if they were larger over a slowed-down version of Doechii’s track “Anxiety.”

Multiple videos have been posted to TikTok, including one of British influencer Demi Jane’s body slowly becoming larger with almost 13 million views, captioned: “If this doesn’t scare me into sticking to the gym I don’t know what will.”

Another joked about how the filter made her look, captioning the video, which has 1.2 million views: “I am screaming where did my neck go pls.”

The not-so-clever punchline is that they’re laughing about how funny it would be if they were fat. Yes, really.

People are uploading pictures of themselves on TikTok using an AI filter to see what they’d look like if they were overweight. Picture: TikTok @coleypopsxx

People are uploading pictures of themselves on TikTok using an AI filter to see what they’d look like if they were overweight. Picture: TikTok @coleypopsxx

No one is laughing

To no one’s surprise, it didn’t take long before it came under fire from other users on the platform, with one slamming it as “beyond disrespectful” and “such a step back in society’s beauty standards.”

“Literally when did we start body shaming again? Why are we going backwards in 2025!!” another wrote.

“Why are we just flat out shaming bigger girls? Whilst you’re laughing about how you look with that filter on, many girls actually look like that,” a third posted.

Among them was Adelaide-born Love Island star Mia Dalkos who called for it to be banned altogether in a video with over 173,000 views.

“It feels wrong and sick,” she said. “This trend is weird, let’s stop doing it. We need to stop as a community (...) it’s not nice.”

TikTok users were quick to call out the offensive trend. Picture: TikTok @sammyjessxx

Adelaide Love Island star Mia Dalkos is among many to speak out against the trend. Picture: TikTok @miadalkos

More than a filter

Fatphobia has long been rife on social media.

One only has to cast their minds back to the early 2010s when “thinspo” content advocating for extreme weight loss dominated platforms like Tumblr and Instagram.

But exposure to content that promotes unhealthy body ideals can have devastating consequences, especially for young people.

For those who’ve struggled with body image like Allira Potter, 33, the problem is what trends like the ‘chubby’ filter represent.

“I think the ‘chubby filter’ on TikTok is bringing up a lot of conversation around body image, self-perception and societal standards of beauty,” the Adelaide body positivity influencer said.

“Of course people are angry as they should be, this is just reinforcing fatphobic ideas.

“The filter makes us all uncomfortable and angry because it suggests that looking ‘bigger’ is something to fear or laugh about.”

Allira Potter says the trend reinforces fatphobic ideas. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Protecting young people online

Almost two-thirds of young people report social media makes them feel negatively about their body, according to Butterfly Foundation’s recent BodyKind Youth Survey.

Last month, another report commissioned by the foundation found 3.1m Australians aged 15 and over experienced appearance-based discrimination – half of which was on the basis of their weight.

Young people were among the most impacted, particularly 15-17 year olds, as well as females and those who identify as LGBTQ+.

Evie Gardinder, who contributed to the report, said “as a larger-bodied person”, people were “made to feel unwelcome or unworthy because of their appearance”.

“It affects not just our opportunities, but our overall health and wellbeing,” she said.

A Butterfly Foundation spokeswoman said the charity was “really disappointed” to see the “chubby” filter trend.

“This filter only contributes to this discrimination and weight stigma that people living in larger bodies face on a regular basis and showcases how our society is still rooted in fatphobia and anti-fat bias,” the spokeswoman said.

“Filters like this do not create online environments where people can feel body confident and all bodies are respected, celebrated and appreciated.

“We send support to anyone who has been negatively impacted by this content and remind them that their body is not a problem to be fixed.”

Videos of the filter trend are still on the platform. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tim Pascoe

Despite the backlash, videos of the trend remain on TikTok.

However, a spokesperson for TikTok said videos posted “using effects like this are not eligible to be recommended on the For You feed, limiting their exposure.”

“Our strict Community Guidelines mean we will remove videos or comments that could be considered bullying or harassment, and we do not allow content that depicts, promotes, normalises, or glorifies eating disorders,” they said.

“If someone searches for this type of content on TikTok, they are redirected to support services, including the Butterfly Foundation.”

For support contact Butterfly Foundation on 1800 ED HOPE (33 4673)

Originally published as ‘No one is laughing’: Why the ‘chubby’ filter going viral on TikTok is dangerous