Debbie Allen tackles diabetes prejudice in shocking reveal

Debbie Allen recently spoke out against the hurtful comments people living with diabetes often face.

Conversing with PEOPLE magazine, the 75-year-old actress and dancer articulated, “We were at a family birthday party, and one of my aunts made a remark to someone in the family who was living with diabetes.”

Recalling that incident, Allen shared, “She said, ‘Girl, you better put down that cake. We don’t want to end up in the hospital with you in a coma.’ And people laughed. It was supposed to be a joke, but it really wasn’t funny, and it was hurtful, and I saw that.”

Notably, the Grey’s Anatomy star has collaborated with Abbott Laboratories for the “Above Bias” campaign to encourage empathy for people with diabetes.

The campaign also made a short film called The Burden of Diabetes Prejudice, which shows what life is like for someone with diabetes.

It also shows how casual comments about food and diet can hurt feelings and stop people from getting medical help.

Shedding light on the film, Allen noted that the film “really will put you in the shoes of someone who is living with diabetes, see the world from their point of view and feel what it’s like to experience the prejudice and the bias. It’s real. It’s something very real for me.”

It is pertinent to mention that the screen show shows a stat that says, “40% of people with diabetes skip treatments out of shame, at the film’s end.