It is no secret that Hollywood isn’t great at portraying body diversity on screen. When a film or TV show is led by a plus-sized woman specifically, the ensuing coverage often calls attention to the dearth of plus-sized protagonists in general. However, in the last few years, many Hollywood movies have seen some of the most talented plus-sized women as leads, one of which is Rebel Wilson .
Besides being a major character in Pitch Perfect , a movie that saw her career skyrocket to the next level, Rebel took on the lead role in Isn’t It Romantic . However, before the movie was released in 2019, the actress was greatly criticized for a claim she made during an interview. Get all details below.
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Inside Rebel’s Controversial Claim
In 2018, Rebel appeared on an episode of the Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote her movie, Isn’t It Romantic, ahead of its release a few months later. While the icon would have thought that the chat would go smoothly and create awareness for her movie, it resulted in something different. During the chat with host Ellen, Rebel claimed to be the first female plus-sized lead to star in a rom-com, which didn’t sit right with social media users.
Fans React To Rebel’s Claims
Shortly after Rebel’s interview with Ellen, fans took to Twitter to call the actress out. Many pointed out other plus-sized female movie stars who had been in the game before her, like Queen Latifah, Ricki Lake, and Mo’Nique. Some also mentioned that the actress’s comment followed a harmful pattern of white people erasing black people and other people of color to call attention to their own successes.
Rebel’s Initial Reaction To The Criticism
Rather than immediately accepting that her controversial words were probably wrong, the actress took to Twitter to justify her claims. Rebel noted that the other actresses mentioned were either not plus-sized when they filmed the movies or the movies they starred in were not classified as studio rom-coms. Also, Rebel blocked some critics, who were mainly African-American.
Rebel Apologizes For Her Actions
Not long after being bashed, Rebel apologized to the public , admitting that she was wrong. In a statement, the actress began by noting that in a “couple of well-intentioned moments, hoping to uplift plus-sized women, she failed to show respect to the actresses who climbed the ladder before her.
She said her words were wrong and incredibly hurtful before mentioning that she blocked the critics because their words hurt her. However, Rebel said they were people she needed to hear more from, and ended with four magic words, “I am deeply sorry.”
