Whoopi Goldberg has responded to a critic who took issue with her for apparently wearing a fat suit in her latest project, insisting that she wasn’t actually using one.
During Monday’s edition of The View, the Oscar winner spoke about her performance as Alma Carthan in Till, a new biopic about the American activist Mamie Till.
“I have to say something because there was a young lady who writes for one of the magazines, and she was distracted by my ‘fat suit’ in her review,” she told her fellow panellists.
“I’m just going to say this, I don’t really care how you felt about the movie, but you should know that was not a fat suit, that was me. And that was steroids.”
Whoopi continued: “I assume you don’t watch [The View], or you would’ve known that was not a fat suit.
“I just want to let you know that it’s OK to not be a fan of a movie, but you want to leave people’s looks out. Just comment on the acting, and if you have a question, ask somebody. Because I’m sure you didn’t mean to be demeaning.”
Around the time she was filming Till, Whoopi had been prescribed steroids to treat sciatica symptoms.
Fat suits have become a controversial subject in Hollywood in recent years, with Sarah Paulson and Renée Zellweger among the actors who’ve come under fire for using them to portray bigger characters.
Many body positivity influencers and critics have said these prosthetics have traditionally been used on screen as a device to “mock fat people”, while others also suggested that thinner actors donning fat suits was a way of taking roles away from plus-size performers.
While the American Crime Story star has said she would not wear one in future roles, Renée also addressed the backlash in a recent interview.