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Nathan's Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest
Source: NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 04: Defending champion Miki Sudo competes during the 2023 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on July 04, 2023 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The annual contest, which began in 1972, draws thousands of spectators to Nathan’s Famous located on Surf Avenue. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

A new HBO Max documentary, Big Girls Wanted: Escaping Pearadise, takes viewers inside a Las Vegas mansion that became famous online as a body-positive retreat for plus-size women. Founded by German businessman Stefan Wilhelmy, Pearadise was designed to be a place where women could feel comfortable, accepted, and free from judgment. Stefan was always bullied for loving big women in Germany. He made a fortune in tech and moved to Las Vegas to live out hos dream.
Social media videos showed pool parties, bikini photos, and a close-knit community that seemed to celebrate confidence and self-love.
Unfortunately, as the house’s popularity grew, so did questions about what life there was really like. The documentary features interviews with former residents, supporters, and critics as it explores the rise of the viral community and the experiences of the women who called Pearadise home. It’s a fascinating look at how an online movement can grow into something much bigger and much more complicated.
Lana Backman