Missy Elliott has responded to allegations from her fans that she poked fun at overweight people in her video for “Pass the Dutch.”The video offended some of her heavier fan base, who accused the rapper of abandoning them after her sudden weight loss.”I still represent for overweight adults and kids but I am now painfully and personally aware of the health issues,” Elliott said in a statement posted on her official website.Elliott explained that she was diagnosed with hypertension and that she had become seriously ill in the past.”I am an only child, I am all my mother has. I love myself and I love the people I would leave behind if I don’t take care of my health. Weight was my issue and I had to drop the pounds. Look at Big Pun and Luther Vandross. I don’t want to end up like them.”Elliott said with the “Pass the Dutch” video, she meant that heavier women should wear proper fitting clothing.”I have always been a big girl myself,” Elliott continued. “I always took pride in the fact that I never had to change my body to be considered beautiful or successful….if those of you who are angry really loved me, you would stand behind me and support my effort to get healthy.”
