The International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) is calling out TLC for allegedly portraying OCD in an inaccurate and irresponsible manner during Catie Norboe’s “90 Day Fiance” scenes.
Fans of “90 Day Fiancé” have been critical as they have watched as Catie has blamed her habit of making out with friends (while drunk) on intrusive thoughts caused by OCD. Catie’s behavior was publicly addressed again on Friday with IOCDF posting a lengthy statement in response to the “recent conversations about the portrayal of OCD” on “90 Day Fiancé.”
(The organization’s post comes just days after Catie was criticized by a trio of medical experts for blaming her Season 12 behavior on her Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.)
In the post, the nonprofit organization noted that OCD is “a serious, often debilitating mental health disorder affecting millions of people.”
“The entertainment industry has a responsibility to get it right, and doing so requires thoughtful decisions at every stage of the creative process,” the nonprofit’s post reads. “The International OCD Foundation encourages TLC to engage clinical experts and people with lived experiences to better inform the content they produce.”
The IOCDF explained that OCD “is characterized by unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images, or urges (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) performed in an attempt to reduce stress.”
While the organization acknowledged that OCD can look different from person to person, IOCDF insisted that misunderstanding OCD can make it more difficult for individuals to recognize their own symptoms, receive an accurate diagnosis, and seek the appropriate care. The post also noted that, with more than a million people tuning in to watch each episode of “90 Day Fiancé,” TLC has an “extraordinary opportunity to shape public understanding of mental health for the better.”
“Accurate portrayals of OCD have the power to transform lives. They replace myths with understanding, reduce stigma, help people recognize the signs of OCD sooner, inspire individuals to seek effective treatment, and let those living with OCD know they are not alone– and that recovery is possible.
“..We stand ready to serve as a resource for future portrayals of OCD and related disorders.”
The post concluded by encouraging those who are creating content about OCD (or related disorders) to reach out to IOCDF via email in order to “improve public understanding of OCD, reduce stigma, and help more people find the treatment that can change their lives.”
IOCDF’s post was met with many comments from “90 Day Fiancé” fans who thanked the organization for their informative post, with some encouraging TLC to “do better” as “OCD is already incredibly misunderstood.”
“Thank you so much for this: as a person living with OCD myself and watching that show on TLC they need to get better educated,” one viewer wrote. “OCD is so misunderstood and this show made me so frustrated to watch. TLC needs to do better!”
“As a person with OCD, I have been waiting for someone to discuss the gross misrepresentation of the disorder that I live with,” another commented on IOCDF’s post. “Thank you! Stinks because I like watching [’90 Day Fiancé’] but it really bothers me to watch this storyline.”
“Thank you,” another viewer wrote. “I’m a huge [’90 Day Fiancé’] fan, I watch spinoffs and the original. This is the first season I have not watched because of this. As someone who has OCD, it’s been incredibly upsetting and frustrating.”
“I actually have OCD,” Catie insisted on Instagram. “I’ve struggled with it for years. The making out with people is how the show chose to portray it … I’ve wasted years of my life doing compulsions and not being able to focus on the moment. My compulsions usually are just, like, mind loops. My compulsions aren’t just me making out with people. They’re just mind loops that I have to do to neutralize a thought.
“ … I don’t like talking about my OCD thoughts [because] they’re stressful and horrible, but I probably did [talk about them] on the show. They just may not have shown it in a way that accurately portrays them.”
New episodes of “90 Day Fiancé” air Sundays on TLC.
(Photos: TLC; Instagram)
One Response
This is getting ridiculous. OCD can manifest in many ways. This is like when some Italian federation was bitching about Jersey shore and tried to take that great entertainment away from us. Shut up.