London’s Evening Standard paper is under fire after it tweeted a video of a man using “tricks” to stop his girlfriend from eating.
“This man has the funniest tricks to help his girlfriend stay healthy!” said the tweet, which featured various scenarios in which the man snatches food from his girlfriend’s hands and then throws water balloons at her, forcing her to run, all in the name of her “health”.
Some twitter users have called out the tweet as promoting abusive behaviour, and endorsing coercive control.
The newspaper, whose editor is former chancellor George Osborne, has since deleted the tweet, but has not responded to queries about the matter. The video can also be viewed on Instagram here.
One user, Robbie Wallis, mused: “I like to imagine the person who posted this tweet. I’m picturing either a 20-something neckbeard gamer in his first job since leaving the basement, or a 50-something fat and sweaty misogynist, neither of whom any women in the office want to be left alone with.”
Another, Matt Gregory, said: “This man is bullying and body-shaming his girlfriend to look how he wants her to look for personal gratification and internet traffic. Ha ha ha ha ha!”
HuffPost UK has approached the Evening Standard for comment.