Fats Timbo: 'I thought I was cursed'
- Published
Fats Timbo was born with dwarfism, but she prefers the term 'little people'
Fats Timbo is a lot of things.
The 25-year-old is a comedian, a model and she has more than two million fans on TikTok.
She also happens to be 4ft (1.21m) tall, and has had to overcome bullying and insecurity to achieve her success.
"For a long time, I thought I was cursed," she tells BBC Radio 1Xtra's If You Don't Know podcast.
"When I was younger, every time I would go out and someone's looking at me, it would make me feel so bad."
Fats started modelling in 2017 after becoming 'tired of feeling insecure, tired of feeling like I'm not enough'
Even when going shopping, she'd experience "people looking at you, people laughing at you, people just ridiculing you".
But Fats found confidence through social media, where she shares comedy sketches and lifestyle posts.
"When I was online, and people noticed how much courage I had and [they] enjoyed my content, that's what made me different," she says.
"I realised when I was going through all the hardships and people bullying me, I felt like I went through it for a reason. Those that have a difference, that's what makes you stand out."
'I like to be called a person'
Fats was born with dwarfism, but she prefers the term "little people".
"Dwarfism is the medical term for it," she explains, "but I don't like to be called a dwarf because I like to be called a human - I like to be called a person.
"Dwarfism is almost making me sound like a mythical creature," she adds.
"The 'm word' - or midget - for me, has always been used as a negative connotation, so that is why I don't like to hear it or people using it towards me."
When she was younger, Fats was "flattered" by people approaching her and fetishising her body.
"You get people, literally because you're small, and you're some kind of fantasy to them - they instantly just want to do the 'ting'".
"I didn't understand it. I didn't have a boyfriend - or experience of a relationship - so I thought I should be flattered, but now looking back as an adult, and seeing people do it to me as an adult, it just feels wrong. It makes me feel like an object."
'I'm invincible'
But Fats believe she has "changed people's perceptions about 'little people', by educating people."
The social media star - who grew her fanbase after appearing on Channel 4's The Undateables in 2018 - now has more than 240,000 followers on Instagram.
"I'm grateful I have my platform," she says: "It taught me I can do anything. I'm invincible, not even in a mad, arrogant way."
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Fats works with beauty and lifestyle companies to create her content - something that didn't seem possible for her growing up.
"Because of how things are moving forward, and brands and companies are trying to change the way they represent people, I am happy brands are using me," she says.
"I am giving hope to younger people like me who are dark-skinned and may have a disability."
"There was no representation [for me] - I felt so alone when I was younger," Fats adds.
"But now, I'm representing, baby!"
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