YouTuber Risabae’s Extremely Restrictive Diet Airs On TV, Raises Concerns

Popular makeup content creator and cosmetic brand CEO Risabae (Lee Sa Bae), who is best known to K-Pop fans for her work with idols like TWICE‘s Tzuyu and Stray Kids‘s Felix, guested in the latest episode of MBC‘s The Manager (Point of Omniscient Interfere) to share glimpses into her busy bee life.

Throughout the episode, Risabae was spotted prioritizing maintaining a presentable visual as a successful YouTuber. But she surprised—and even concerned—the viewers when the show revealed her level of dedication to an extreme diet.

For breakfast, Risabae downed a handful of dietary supplements with a shake.

Then, at lunchtime, Risabae was seen eating a small salad. Despite a coworker tempting her into taking a bite of the hearty meal provided by the company, Risabae held back and took a sniff at it instead.

Her manager testified, “I have to beg her to eat tteokbokki with me, and it only happens about once a year. I’ve heard she also likes ramen and mala soup, but she never eats them and restrains herself.”

In the episode, it was also revealed that “The last time [Risabae] had ramyun was last year.” She explained that she would rather not risk the types of food that could either make her gain weight or give her bloating and/or breakout.

Risabae: If I eat [things like ramyun], I get swollen. But I have something to shoot almost every day. I have to be in front of the camera daily. So I’d rather not be swollen.

Jun Hyun Moo: I get it. If she eats something wrong, she might break out a pimple.

Risabae: When I do get an occasional pimple, my subscribers like it. They get to see my cover-up tricks. And they also see that my videos are all real and without editing or filtering.

After the episode aired, viewers expressed concerns over Risabae’s health as well as the potential negative impact that the episode might have on younger viewers.

• “It was said in the episode that she isn’t healthy right now. Her doctor told her to refrain from even taking walks.”
• “She’s probably trying to maintain a super slim figure because that’s how she maintains her popularity.”
• “My sibling saw Risabae IRL once and said she’s skinnyAF. I guess we know why now.”
• “I wish TV programs wouldn’t highlight extremely restrictive diets like hers on air.”
• “Keeping weight off that way is going to come back and haunt her real bad. I hope she eats better…”
• “I was worried not only about what she was eating but also about how she had zero energy.”

• “I’m so disappointed in her. I thought she was someone both physically and mentally healthy. But if this is real, she has an eating disorder and is obsessive.”
• “Why show this on television, though?”
• “This is a bit concerning… She’s not well, obviously. She needs to start eating.”
• “She probably wouldn’t need all those dietary supplements if she started eating a more balanced diet.”
• “This is so harmful.”
• “This is harmful content. Don’t show this to kids. Younger viewers won’t know what’s right from wrong and try this for themselves.”

Watch the full clip here: