Louise Thompson slams Euphoria for ‘nasty’ stoma bag representation
Made in Chelsea star Louise Thompson has slammed Euphoria for depicting stoma bags as ‘disgusting’.
Sharing a statement on Instagram on Sunday, the 36-year-old discussed the storyline involving Kadeem Hardison’s character Edward ‘Big Eddy’ Wallace who is seen with a stapled stomach and a stoma after being shot.
His stoma bag is called ‘nasty’ by the other characters, with his boss telling him to ‘cover that s**t up’, declaring: ‘Don’t be showing that to no mother f***er’.
Thompson, who has been open about her health, had her colon removed following an Ulcerative Colitis in 2018. In 2024 she was fitted with a stoma after becoming ill during a trip where she lost significant amounts of blood and was unable to walk.
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A stoma is a medical device that is a surgically created opening made on the abdomen to divert faeces and urine.
The procedure may be needed if a person is unable to pass stool through the anus, which could be the result of an illness, injury, or a problem with the digestive system.
Some people may have a temporary stoma.
In her post to instagram, the reality TV star called out the scene and praised those with a stoma for their ‘bravery’.
She showed her stoma bag and slammed the TV series for using a ‘horrendous medical circumstance as a punchline’ and claimed those with little knowledge of the condition into thinking that it is ‘disgusting’.
Thompson also wrote a caption to accompany the video delving further into her feelings about the scene in Euphoria.
"Just a reminder that your life saving medical device is NOT nasty and does not need to be hidden away or fill you with shame !!!..
"Look, I know that bad characters do and say horrendous things in tv scripts ALL THE TIME, I won’t even list them here because then no one will see this, but given that stoma bags feature SO infrequently in this space it feels quite jarring and a little upsetting to watch and I wonder if it’s a tad irresponsible?!?!...
"It would be ok if there was light with the shade; or nods to bravery, but continued online shade around ileostomy bags is a bit depressing...
"I also really doubt someone would be walking around with staples in their stomach like that (high risk of infection) before having them removed in hospital...
"I’ll admit I’m personally very well adjusted so this is less about me, but I’m really creating this post on behalf of younger Louise and my younger audience who look up to me…
"Also for those that have been told that having a stoma fitted in the future is a very real possibility. It’s fear mongering and i know how vulnerable I was when I was a teenager. If I’d had this surgery back then things might have been harder for me…
"Because teenagers tend to be much less exposed and adjusted to bodily differences and I wonder what opinions they might have after watching this series of euphoria?...
"Imagine you’re 18 years old again, you’ve just had a stoma surgery, you google it to find out a bit more and THIS is what shows up. It’s not gonna make you feel good at all. Hmmmm...
"Obviously I’m biased and sensitive to the intricacies of stoma life but what do you think? If I was naive and had never seen one before i think I’d be fairly influenced...
'" know it’s JUST a show and those who haven’t had a medical condition might perceive this as sensitive but I’m willing to take the backlash in favour of reaching a few who need this !
“You do NOT need to hide your body away or feel shame...
"Also I know I use the word horrendous 3 times in this video with reference to a body but I think I was feeling so strongly about how horrendous the sentiment was in this clip'.
Topics: TV And Film, Euphoria, Health
Greg Harris