THE woman who accused Usher of exposing her to herpes has embarked on the same weight loss transformation plan as Mama June - after being fat-shamed online.
Quantasia Sharpton, who currently weighs around 420 pounds - the equivalent of 30 stone - has enlisted the help of June Shannon's manager Gina Rodriguez, who helped the reality star lose over 300 pounds in a sensational transformation on TV show From Not to Hot.
She plans to lose 100 pounds - approximately seven stone - before November so she can have gastric band surgery - before slimming down to her goal weight of 150 pounds - just over 10 stone - next year.
The global media attention Quantasia has received since taking legal action against Usher would also be the perfect platform from which to launch a reality TV career.
Quantasia told Sun Online she decided to embark on the dramatic weight loss plan after being mocked for her size by online haters and called names like "cow" and "two tonne".
The 21-year-old also revealed that many people didn't believe her claims that Usher exposed her to herpes - because she was "fat".
"It was really hard for me after all the media interest - I have been bullied all my life for my size but to have the whole world doing it is something completely different," she said.
"People were saying that I looked like a cow, that they don't believe me because I'm fat and calling me all different types of names like two tonne and all these fat jokes. "Basically it was like being victimized twice. I was a victim of him [Usher] then I was in the media being fat shamed. It was a lot to go through at the same time."
Quantasia is among two women and a man who have started legal proceedings against the singer over allegations he didn't reveal he had herpes before bedding them.
The man involved in the joint lawsuit alleges that he and Usher had sex in a Koreatown spa in Los Angeles, while one of the women claims she the STD she contracted caused her twins to be stillborn.
Quantasia claims that she went to see Usher in concert for her 19th birthday in November 2014 and he pulled her onstage before later coming to her hotel room where they had "sexual contact".
The R&B star allegedly claimed he did not sleep with Quantasia because "she's not his type" but legal proceedings are ongoing.
Following the revelations, Quantasia said she was bullied so badly online that she could have ended up committing suicide - if it wasn't for her strong personality and support network.
She added that the weight loss transformation is her way of fighting back against the bullies.
"A lot of girls go through what I went through," she said.
"I've been a big girl for a long time and I know that females go through bullying every single day.
"But they're not in the media and being publicly bullied like me in front of millions of people."
She added: "It hurt before but now it's like 'Wow' it's a lot of hate to deal with.
"I feel like if I wasn't the strong person that I am - because I grew up with bullying - the ending could have been different from this weight loss plan - it could have been suicide or hurting myself like other young people do because they don't have these type of outlets. I'm here to speak for them.
"Words are hurtful - I'm still human, I'm not invincible.
"But I get through this by praying and being with my family."
Quantasia said she is currently on a strict 1200 calorie a day vegan diet and says Mama June is her "inspiration" to stick with the programme.
She has already lost four pounds since she started the diet four days ago - going from 420 pounds to 416.
If the young mum loses 100 pounds before November, she will undergo the same gastric sleeve surgery as June - performed by the same surgeon Dr Michael Feiz.
"I'm on a very strict diet, oats for morning then meatless meat for lunch and dinner and lots of vegetables and water, water, water," she explained.
'My workout is walking with my son I take him to the park and run around the track.
"June is an inspiration to me - I loved what Gina did with her on her show. I feel it really empowered me to embark on this.
"June looks amazing now - I didn't know that you could get that small from the size she was.
"I always thought that if you were a certain size then even if you lose weight your frame is not meant to be that small so I was really shocked that she did it.
"And I was so proud of her for doing it.
"I'm around the same weight as June was so I'll be going on a very similar journey to her."
Most read in news
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTErKynZpOke7a3jqecsKtfaYJ1go9xa2ito52ys3nHnqmpnaNirqSv1Kycq2Whqq6vwMCsoJplo52us7zTqKVmnZ2XrrO30mamp2WdlrqiecmupZ5lp5q2qLTTZqOoq6NiwbOtzaydqKqdlsGqu81moaitoqOyunnAn6ueql2Xsqq6xmadmqxdqLWiucSdZKimnJ67pns%3D