Giles Coren 'fat shames' his own son in Esquire column - Twitter fires back

Writer and broadcaster Giles Coren is no stranger to criticism. The outspoken columnist attracts attention, both negative and positive, due to his controversial opinions and colourful language.

The son of legendary humourist Alan Coren, the 48-year-old has written about restaurants and food since the 1990s and is currently employed as a restaurant critic for The Times.

A column in the December edition of Esquire has received a withering response from Twitter users due to uncharitable comments he aimed at his four-year-old son.

In "I Don't Care What My Son Becomes... As Long As He Isn't Overweight" he says his son has an "arse on him like Vanessa Feltz and a full frontal presentation at bath time that puts one in mind of a Gavin and Stacey-era James Corden".

He adds: "So the boy eats a lot of white carbs, sugary cereals, pizza, fried chicken... much like a poor child in America's morbidly obese central heartlands. Which is why Sam looks like one of them."

He also claims not to care if his son becomes poor or an alcoholic "as long as he isn't fat".

Users on social media were furious with his comments, which they say are "tasteless" and "fat-shaming". Here are some of reactions:

In 2010 he was roundly criticised for threatening violence against his 14-year-old neighbour for playing drums. He wrote: 'For ****'s sake! Do I kill him then burn it? Or do I **** him, then kill him then burn it?'

Just a few years later he was even censured in parliament after he apparently named a well-known footballer who was subject to a so-called "super-injunction" on Twitter.

Just last month he became embroiled in another squabble due his comments about Harvey Weinstein and workplace sexual harassment. He wrote: "one misfired flirt and I could be out of a job, publicly shunned, end up in prison."

The comment put him once again in the firing line for allegedly trivialising sexual harassment, and he took to Twitter to defend the column.