WHY I HATE IT WHEN MY FAVORITE FAT ACTRESSES LOSE WEIGHT

There are so few fat actresses that when one of them goes on a diet and leaves the fold I feel betrayed

           

This is the midweek what-to-watch edition of Snarky Senior — the newsletter from Erica Manfred, which you can read about here. If you like it and don’t want to miss an issue, you can get it in your inbox by subscribing.

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There are so few fat actresses that when one of them goes on a diet and leaves the fold I feel betrayed—like I’ve been abandoned by a friend.  I doubt any of these women realize what icons they are for the ranks of plus size women in the U.S. and elsewhere who are desperate for role models with bodies that look like theirs.  

We fat girls (and I count myself among them even though I’m much too old to be a girl) admire them, imitate their fashion choices, follow their careers, cheer them on, watch all their movies and TV shows.

And what do we get in return—People Magazine covers celebrating their weight loss.

I feel like there’s been a death in the family when yet another fat fave loses weight.

The latest betrayal is Rebel Wilson—a slapstick genius--who has gone and lost 40 pounds on me.  Physical comedy is her specialty and she knows how to throw her weight around to get the most laughs. I’m not a fan when she’s used as an object of ridicule, like in How to Be Single where she was the butt of all the jokes as the fat girl who couldn’t get a man.  But in Isn’t it Romantic she actually gets the guys in a sly takeoff on romantic comedies.  In all her movies she’s a master of the pratfall.  Her screen persona is outsize, matching her actual size.   Without the weight she’s in danger of becoming just another ordinary funny girl.

Adele is another recent loss.  She doesn’t talk about why or how she lost weight, but I was dismayed to see a slimmed down version of her appear on Saturday Night Live recently.  She’s still pretty, but not as gorgeous as when she was heavier IMHO.  She sang a couple of bars of her big hits—her voice is still there-- but I wonder if and when I’ll hear her in concert again.  

I’ve already mourned too many role models over the years.   First there was Ricki Lake, as Tracy Turnblad, the fat girl who won the 50s dance competition in John Waters’ Hairspray.  She was cute, campy danced, sang, and never mentioned her weight.  She won our hearts.  Then Lake lost weight and became a daytime talk show host, and never danced or sang again.  She seemed to think this was a positive career move.  I thought it was a big mistake.   Her body and her career faded away.

Then there was Roseanne Barr, who created Roseanne, the most popular sitcom of the late 80s and 90s.  Brilliant, original and snarky—Roseanne ruled--all 250 plus pounds of her.  Then the show ended and she had a gastric bypass which seemed to have not only removed her stomach but her sanity, which had always been marginal. By the time of her Roseanne follow up, the Conners, in 2018 she was a thin Trump supporter who imitated his propensity for offensive tweets and got fired. I can’t say it was weight loss that turned her into a right-winger, but it certainly didn’t help.

I used to worship Melissa McCarthy—another brilliant comedian-- who keeps on yo-yo-ing weight-wise.  She’s at her funniest when she’s at her fattest in my humble opinion, but she says she’s now a size 14 which is at least not anorexic.  Weight loss doesn’t seem to have hurt her career, but it does hurt us, her fervent fat fans.

One notable fat actress on TV today—who shows no signs of losing weight—is This is Us star Chrissy Metz.  She’s beautiful and charismatic on screen, truly an inspiration to so many plus size young women who think they’ll never get anywhere.   But her stardom in the show is a double edged sword.  Her weight has been a major driver of her character arc, which portrays her as obsessed with body image and weight loss.  She meets her husband-to-be in a Weight Watchers meeting and struggles with him accepting her as she is.  Her contract obligates her to lose weight along with her character but she says they’re not putting any pressure on her.  Time will tell on this one. 

Gaborey Sidibe is a triumphant outlier in the weight category who defied all the Hollywood fat haters who said she was unlikely to have a film career after her Oscar nominated role as an extremely obese black teen in Precious in 2009.  She defied the odds and is now an established character actor who has worked regularly since then in movies and TV series including The Big C, American Horror Story, Coven, and Empire.   I especially love Sidibe because she had so many strikes against her—including her color-- but refused to give up.   She’s recently had gastric bypass surgery because she’s diabetic.  I’ll give her a pass on that decision. I know how effective gastric bypass is for diabetes so I hope she stays healthy.  I’m happy she’s lost a lot of weight, but is still fat, just a lot less fat. 

When it comes to personal role models, mine has always been Kathy Bates, who has remained pretty much the same large size throughout her career until recently. Her brilliant acting and ability to play just about any characters have somehow allowed her to avoid the tabloid criticism and speculation about her weight.  But she too has succumbed to the pressure to slim down and recently announced a 60 pound weight loss.  She looks like a different person which makes me very sad.  I loved her just the way she was.

Another of my favorite fat actresses, who has flown under the radar of the body shamers is Octavia Spencer.  As an older character actress she’s not expected to be thin, which is a good thing for her and her fans.   She’s also a chameleon who can play anything from a maid to a mathematician.   I haven’t read anything yet about her weight loss.  I’m afraid to Google it.

Last but very far from least is the spectacular, fatabulous, amazing, gorgeous wonder of the music world—the amazing LIZZO, who demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that you can be both fat and fit, fat and sexy, fat and a great beauty all at the same time.  Anyone who can dance at that level of athleticism to hip hop, including twerking and squats, while belting rap music is in a category of her own.   But even she has succumbed, has gone vegan and lost weight.  I’m devastated.   When even Lizzo loses weight it’s all over for the body positivity movement.   

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