Recently, paparazzi pictures of actress Renee Zellweger surfaced online where she could be seen wearing a fat-suit on the sets of her upcoming show The Thing About Pam. In the pictures, Renee appears to be shooting a scene while in character as convicted murderer Pam Hupp. The actress also wore a prosthetic nose to look the part. Ever since the pictures have dropped, netizens have expressed their displeasure at the decision. They have maintained that fat-suits perpetuate fat-phobia, and a plus-sized actress could have easily played the part.
Taking a cue from this latest development, let us look at the time actors chose to alter their physical appearance for roles and angered people for perpetuating fat-phobia, racism or disablism.
Sarah Paulson
The latest example of an actor who was criticised for wearing a fat-suit is actress Sarah Paulson. Sarah appeared in Impeachment: American Crime Story, which released last month, where she played Linda Tripp. Sarah wore a fat-suit to look like the former Civil Servant. This did not go down well with the audience, who said that the decision perpetuated fat-phobia. The actress then apologised during an interview, saying, “It’s very hard for me to talk about this without feeling like I’m making excuses. There’s a lot of controversy around actors and fat suits, and I think that controversy is a legitimate one. I think fat phobia is real. I think to pretend otherwise causes further harm.”
Zoe Saldana
Actress Zoe Saldana might have a terrific script sense to be a part of multiple blockbuster films, however, her decision to play legendary singer and poet Nina Simone backfired. In Nina, Zoe wore black-face, a full body suit, a prosthetic nose and false teeth. Zoe, who is a light-skinned woman of Puerto Rican, Haitian and Dominican descent was accused of mocking the facial features of a dark-skinned Black woman. Zoe apologised later, saying she should have used her leverage to get an actress better suited to play the role.
Bryan Cranston
Bryan Cranston courted controversy after playing a paraplegic in The Upside, which also starred Kevin Hart. However, he further infuriated fans after saying that it was a ‘business decision’ to bring more focus on disability. He also implied that he had knowledge that his casting would lead to controversy. Cranston’s choice of words and casting got a lot of backlash, especially from many disabled actors and activists.
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra’s casting in Mary Kom faced a lot of backlash as she was playing the Manipuri boxing legend. Not only were Northeast Indians unhappy with the role going to a non-NE actor, the pictures of make-up artists making her eyes smaller with prosthetics also infuriated fans. Her casting was called racist, especially due to the use of prosthetics. While the director Omung Kumar doubled down on his decision, Chopra has never addressed the issue.
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson was heavily criticised for starring in Rupert Sanders’ Ghost in the Shell, which was based on a Japanese anime. The film was called out for cultural appropriation for using Asian aesthetics, storyline and locations while casting white actors. Apart from that, visual effects, prosthetics and make-up was used to make Johansson ‘look Asian.’ The actress did not apologise for the role but said that she did not feel like she played an offensive character. Director Rupert Sanders stood by his decision in 2017, but dragged Johansson into controversy again when he cast her to play a transgender man in Rub and Tug. The film, after massive backlash, was shelved.
Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar
Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar’s casting as Shooter Dadis Chandro and Prakashi Tomar in Saand Ki Aankh faced a lot of controversy. The young actresses essayed the professional shooters, who were in their late seventies. Pannu and Pednekar wore prosthetics to look older. Actress Nina Gupta criticised the casting, saying that it was ageist and took away opportunities from older actors. Many also echoed Gupta’s sentiments. Both the actresses have since then stood by their casting during various interviews.
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