Who is Kate Kope? All about plus size model as she goes viral over reaction to being told “she’s not that fat” during Delta flight

Model Kate Kope recently made headlines after sharing an upsetting yet relatable experience she had on a Delta flight. In doing so, she sparked a conversation about body image, societal pressures, and what it actually means to be a curve model.

Kope is a 27-year-old curve model from Brooklyn, New York. According to her bio in Jag Models, Kope is 5'9" with a 36-30-42 figure, has blue-green eyes and blonde hair. She is an up-and-coming model signed to Jag Models.

She also runs a Youtube channel titled Kate Kope and a personal Pinterest account named allmymoodboards. Her Youtube channel, created in 2011, hosts only one video, posted earlier this year. In the video Kope vlogs her daily life after moving to Los Angeles.

Recently Kope went on TikTok to share an uncomfortable interaction she had with a fellow passenger. In her now viral video, Kope explained that when she told the woman next to her in a flight that she was a curve model, the women supposedly asked to see her Instagram. After looking at Kope’s instagram profile, she remarked:

"Oh, don't worry, you're not that fat."

According to People, Kope has worked with brands including SKIMS, Victoria’s Secret, Fenty Beauty and Hollister. Yet, according to her, when she tells people she is a model, she is often met with skepticism or disbelief, especially when she includes the term curve or plus-size.

Kate Kope's thoughts on people's response to her being a curve model

Although many would find the women’s comment jarring, Kope confessed in a follow-up interview with People that she wasn't surprised. She said:

"I’m used to people not quite knowing what to say when I tell them I am a curve model.

Kate Kope, who is a US size 10, ranges from a size 8 to size 14. Kope said that she often doesn’t fit the stereotype of what the public assumes plus-size people look like, particularly in person.

"In person, I am not at all what someone would consider as 'curvy' or 'plus-size,' so an awkward reaction often happens. I think people almost want to comfort me and let me know that I’m not fat," she told People.

Kope noted that the older woman’s comment on the flight wasn’t necessarily meant to hurt her. As a matter of fact, she said the two had a wider and respectful conversation. However, she added that such statements, especially when coming from younger people, seem a little problematic due to the way society still ties thinness to goodness and fatness to badness.

However, beyond the viral moment, Kate Kope has been candid about her experiences as a model in the industry, and the evolving, and at times devolving, standards of body representation.

She expressed concern that the industry was now avoiding the original plus size models, as photographers and brands increasingly look for medium curve or midsize models like her.

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"A couple years ago, curve models had more of a presence in the industry... But recently, there has been less and less of that happening. I’ve noticed brands shooting smaller and smaller curves or the models," she said.

Kate Kope stated that she continues to use her influence to fight for representation in media and fashion. She hopes that the next generation won’t take to heart the superficial notions of beauty that still prevail in popular culture.

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