The 685-lb Teen (TLC) - General Discussion

[Guest]

Premieres tonight at 10:00 PM on TLC. This show features Justin Williamson. A teen. Who weighs 685 pounds.

Here's the TLC listing. 

Here's Justin singing on The Doctors:

[Emkat]

Omg this mother is insane. She allowed him to become this overweight and when anyone said anything "That hit me wrong." What a nut.

And sorry buddy; your voice is not that great.

[CouchTater]

12 minutes ago, Emkat said:

Omg this mother is insane. She allowed him to become this overweight and when anyone said anything "That hit me wrong." What a nut.

And sorry buddy; your voice is not that great.

I agree on both points, Emkat.  The mother wants to say that Justin should look inward for blame.  Lady, he's a child, and he got to 685 pounds on your watch.

And no, his voice isn't great.  It sounds like he still needs to go through puberty.

[MrsClaus]

I can't believe all that crap his mom was bringing home knowing he was to be losing weight.

Edited March 1, 2018 by MrsClaus

[Grandma Z]

I think we need to get behind Justin and support him for all of his hard work. Yes, Mom needs to get with the program. His sister is not much help either and looks to be on her way to needing surgery soon as well.  Hang in there Justin. You are an inspiration.

[Guest]

Oh, man. His sister and his mother must have gained all the weight Justin lost. I was shocked to see how both of them appeared at the end of this show. 

Justin is a nice fellow. He  is not, however, an especially talented singer. Stay in college, Justin.

[88Keys]

His voice is so high for his age.  At the end, it seems slightly deeper (his speaking voice, I mean).  Would being super-overweight like that affect when/how his voice changes?

The choir looks like they don't want to be there.

Edited March 1, 2018 by 88Keys

[Granny58]

16 hours ago, 88Keys said:

His voice is so high for his age.  At the end, it seems slightly deeper (his speaking voice, I mean).  Would being super-overweight like that affect when/how his voice changes?

The choir looks like they don't want to be there.

My non-medical degreed opinion is that all the extra fat is creating estrogen....feminizing his voice.  

[Pepper Mostly]

Justin seems nice enough, and his voice, though no great shakes, is pleasant enough. If he has the interest and the ambition, let him keep up with his vocal training and see where it takes him, he's young yet. He should go to college, get exposed to some other music teachers, really test himself. I applaud him for sticking with his diet and not getting derailed by his sabotaging mother and sister. What the hell was momma's problem? "I was forced to eat healthy food when I was growing up, I didn't like it, so now I eat whatever I want".  What a whiny, selfish person. And sister had no business talking smack. She's headed to immobility herself!

[SunnyBeBe]

This was on as a repeat by TLC this week.  I found it amusing.  I wonder if there is an update on it.  None was shown by TLC.  

I thought the young man was quite inspiring.  I hope that he got out of that house and far from his mom and sister.  WHY didn't they take the opportunity to put their health first too?  So frustrating.  They appeared to be morbidly obese too, to me.  Terrible support system, imo.

I thought he had a great voice.  Just as good as many contestants on The Voice and American Idol. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

This TLC special, also marketed as the 685 pound teen, is being shown on 2020.01.01.  Happy New Year!  TLC is starting the year with a super-sized persons marathon!

[Guest]

Oh, MAN! What time is this on? I googled and found nothing except this article from 2010 about a quarter-ton teen who died in a fire because the fireman couldn't get her out of the house. 😞 

ETA: Never mind. It's Justin Williamson!

[Dr.OO7]

15 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

This TLC special, also marketed as the 685 pound teen, is being shown on 2020.01.01.  Happy New Year!  TLC is starting the year with a super-sized persons marathon!

 I guess it's appropriate, since losing weight is a common New Year's resolution. People's first issue of the year is typically about people who have done so.

Stories like this frighten me. While many people are guilty of letting a few pounds sneak in, I've never been able to understand how someone can let themselves get to this point. And I've never understood, no matter what the person's addiction--food, sex, drugs, alcohol--why there is always someone to consciously or unconsciously enable them.

[Jeeves]

I was looking for this under the "Quarter Ton Teen" title that TLC used for the show last night. I didn't see this the first time around. 

I found this Starcasm article with an update, from a couple of months ago. It says he's looking forward to skin removal surgery sometime this year, and he is enrolled in college, studying music. That's encouraging. 

[CatherineR]

For anyone who has found this after more airings of the 685 lb. Teen, here’s one of Justin’s occasionally updated Facebook pages. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100028831853575  

He posted a picture in January 2022 that looks like he’s gained most of his weight back, unfortunately. And being as morbidly obese as his mother appeared to have gotten from the beginning of the show to the end of it—as if she’d eaten all 300 pounds that he’d lost, at that point—if he’s remained at home while attending college and beyond, I don’t imagine that it would’ve been easy for him on a long-term basis to keep the weight loss going. That woman got him to that point and she appeared to not like it that he suddenly was no longer so dependent upon her, and that is likely part of the reason or most of the reason she gained so much weight at her age, which is an unusual thing to occur. Her weight gain was more shocking than Justin’s loss. Wow! 
 

I agree with those who said his voice wasn’t the greatest, but it was adequate. He could be a singing coach if he’s learned all the tools he could learn while attending college with a corresponding degree. His mother and sister did not seem to be very supportive, and his mother was just a joke, all around.