Vogue Williams has joined the growing backlash against podcaster Steven Bartlett after he went viral for claiming that two glasses of wine “ruined his life for three days.” Bartlett, star of The Diary Of A CEO, described how even a small amount of alcohol negatively affected his productivity, sleep, gym routine, diet, and ability to podcast. His story quickly attracted widespread attention, with many questioning whether his reaction was exaggerated.
On the latest episode of My Therapist Ghosted Me, Williams and her co-host Joanne McNally offered their perspectives on Bartlett’s comments. Williams expressed that his approach to life “feels like he’s not actually living it.” She explained, “He said he had three glasses of wine and it ruined his life because it made him not optimal for three days. First of all, he said that he wasn’t able to podcast well, which I actually don’t agree with because I think when you’re hungover, you are on full fuego.”
Williams elaborated that Bartlett’s obsession with optimization seemed to limit his experience of life. “He does go on about human connection and stuff like that, but it just feels like he’s only connecting to himself and not actually living his life,” she said. She also joked about the effects of alcohol, noting, “I think you’re at your funniest when you’re hungover. I also think you’re at your best two drinks in. That’s when a human is at its best. If everyone went around two drinks in and they were all kept at that level, we’d all be getting on and there would be no war.”
The discussion also touched on Bartlett’s reliance on his Whoop fitness tracker and his tendency to overanalyze health data. Williams described her own experience with the device, saying, “The amount of times I’ve seen a 1% recovery on my Whoop and I look at it and I’m like, I know I’m dead today because I know what I did yesterday and I know I’ve had two hours sleep. That’s kind of why I stopped wearing the Whoop because I was like, ‘This is too judgmental for me.’”
McNally agreed, pointing out that overanalyzing health metrics can become obsessive. “Yeah, and sometimes I’m like, do you know what? You don’t need that much intel. You just don’t. You can get kind of obsessed by it. And Steven Bartlett is an absolute wh**e to his Whoop from what I can tell,” she said.
The pair also critiqued Bartlett’s previous comments on male loneliness and the so-called incel epidemic. In February, Bartlett discussed the challenges faced by men who struggle to form romantic relationships, raising questions about whether society should intervene to help them. McNally reflected on this, saying, “Do you know what I think bothers me about him? He is preaching about his concerns about incel men, involuntary celibate men who aren’t socializing. They’re not meeting women. If you’re preaching, if you’re concerned about the male loneliness epidemic, and what you’re also doing is keeping men even more isolated… I’m not saying drinking is the key. I’m not saying it’s the code, but what I am saying is if a man is just obsessed with dumping himself in ice, not drinking, sitting in, optimizing, tracking his sleep, tracking all this s**t.”
Bartlett’s video sparked a broader conversation about the growing “optimization movement” led by tech and wellness enthusiasts. Greg James, the BBC radio host, encouraged people to “switch off” from over-monitoring their lives and instead enjoy themselves. He criticized the movement for making people feel miserable if they fail to hit personal targets. “My issue is this endless optimization and measuring of everything to the point where it starts to make you feel a bit miserable if you don’t quite hit your own targets,” James said.
Other celebrities joined the conversation in support of this view. Julia Bradbury, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021, highlighted the importance of balance and living in the moment. “Agreed. As someone who’s written books about this, at the end of the day it’s about progress, not perfection, and fun. I had cancer. Grateful for every day,” she said. She explained that while she tracks her goals on some days, she relies on instinct at other times, emphasizing that life cannot be fully optimized. Bradbury also reflected on Bartlett’s claims about wine, noting that alcohol had a far less dramatic impact on her own life, and that she had given it up for health reasons.
Fearne Cotton also weighed in, adding a humorous perspective. She noted that she often podcasts more effectively when hungover, supporting the idea that occasional indulgence does not necessarily hinder performance.
Overall, the backlash against Bartlett highlights a growing tension between strict self-optimization and simply living life. Critics argue that an overemphasis on monitoring sleep, recovery, and productivity can lead to unnecessary anxiety and isolation. Meanwhile, the conversation sparked by Williams, McNally, and others reflects a broader cultural pushback against the idea that human experience should be measured and optimized to the detriment of spontaneity, connection, and joy.
Bartlett’s representatives have been contacted for comment, but the discussion around his wine anecdote continues to generate debate, reflecting larger questions about balance, mental health, and the cost of pursuing constant optimization.
