My 600-Lb Life alum Amber Rachdi is opening up about her survival story and the devastating losses that continue to haunt the long-running TLC series. In a candid Instagram Reel shared on December 12, Rachdi, 35, addressed a comment that stayed with her and used it as a starting point to discuss compassion and privilege.
The many fellow cast members who never got the chance to rebuild their lives.
Amber Rachdi Responds to a Comment That Stayed With Her
Rachdi said a comment left by a viewer “lived rent-free in my head for days.” The message read, “[M]ost people in the 600lbs have [a] mental disorder hence the addiction, attitude, etc., but you, you seem to be very normal and in fact an intelligent one. I wonder what made you let it happen to get to be that big before.”
As per The Daily Mail, she addressed the comment directly, and Rachdi shared her perspective.
“My name is Amber, and ten years ago I survived an ordeal. I was told by a doctor when I was young that I would not likely live past age 25. I survived, I should feel proud,” she said.
She added that survival alone should not be used as a measuring stick against others.
“The worst possible outcome of my suffering for me is that other people’s struggles are compared to my success. That is not who I want to be to other people.”
‘I Have Peers and Friends Who Have Died’
Rachdi emphasized that reaching adulthood was not something she takes lightly.
“That I am here today as an adult of 35 years old is an intense privilege. I have peers and friends who have died,” she said.
She then named dozens of fellow cast members who have passed away either during or after their time on the show.
Among them were Henry Foots, Rob Buchel, L.B. Bonner, Lisa Fleming, Kelly Mason, Sean Milliken, James King, Coliesa McMillian, Renee Biran, Gina Krasley, Ashley Randall, Laura Perez, Destinee LaShaee, Angela Gutierrez, Larry Myers Jr., Paul MacNeill, Vianey Rodriguez, Latonya Pottain, Dottie Perkins, Lupe Samano, and Pauline Potter.
“All of us are trying to improve our lives and live,” Rachdi continued. “And so many of us never got that opportunity.”
Calling Out the ‘Hero or Villain’ Narrative
Rachdi said she is troubled by how audiences often frame cast members as either success stories or failures.
“It is so unfair and unfathomably cruel when people tell me, ‘You’ve done so well’ in one breath and then say, ‘But so-and-so from the show, I hated them,’” she said.
She added, “Everybody who has been cast as a hero or a villain is playing some flanderized versions of themselves. These people are complicated.”
Rachdi pushed back against the idea that some participants are undeserving of empathy.
“People like to praise my diligence, my resilience, my ability to persevere. And yeah, I’m just lucky. I’m better supported, better educated, better surrounded with care,” she said.
‘Who Does and Does Not Deserve Compassion’
Rachdi warned that this type of thinking can have far-reaching consequences.
“I think what people are trying to say is that because they perceive some of my more difficult peers as the architects of their own misery, that they are not owed any shred of human compassion,” she said.
She added that the “trouble with this rhetoric” is that it normalizes “who does and does not deserve compassion,” which she said can “lead us to some really dark conclusions.”
“You can’t get care, you smoked your whole life. Why would we offer you cancer treatment? Your fact, you did it to yourself,” she argued. “You didn’t come illegally. You get to be put in a cage.”
Rachdi also shared a deeply personal moment.
“I was one of four people present at Sean Milliken’s funeral. I only learned today that Dottie died.”
Rachdi appeared on Season 3 of “My 600-Lb Life” and is widely considered a success story after losing nearly 300 pounds with the help of Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, also known as Dr. Now, and weight-loss surgery.
Her message, she said, is not about celebrating survival, but about remembering those who never got the same chance and insisting they remain worthy of compassion.
