Former “Stranger Things” star Shannon Purser slammed the entertainment industry, which she accused of not allowing “fat actors” any “upward mobility,” saying that there are “almost no fat big name stars.”
The 24-year-old actress seemed to take issue with a recent release of a preview showing actress Emma Thompson in the supporting role of the upcoming Netflix film “Matilda: The Musical” wearing what appeared to be a fat suit, the Washington Examiner reported in a piece published Wednesday.
“They’re [Entertainment Industry] not hiring fat actors for iconic fat characters because they want a big name star,” Purser tweeted recently to her hundreds of thousands of followers.
“There are almost no fat big name stars because fat actors aren’t allowed upward mobility,” she added. “We aren’t allowed upward mobility because the industry sees us as two-dimensional set pieces.”
they’re not hiring fat actors for iconic fat characters because they want a big name star. there are almost no fat big name stars because fat actors aren’t allowed upward mobility. we aren’t allowed upward mobility because the industry sees us as two-dimensional set pieces.
— Shannon (@shannonpurser) June 20, 2022
Thompson being cast for the role of Miss Trunchbull in the film has caused some backlash against the star, whose appearance in the fat suit has been labeled “gross” and more, Express UK noted.
To take on the role of the cruel headmistress of Crunchem Hall Primary School, the actress slipped into a fat suit to make her body size fit the character’s description in the children’s book by Roald Dahl. The actress also wore several prosthetics that completely changed her appearance as well.
FatBodyPolitics tweeted, “I can’t believe someone would agree to put a thin person into this costume for Matilda the musical. The original was already fat phobic enough but now they put Emma Thompson into a fat suit.”
Columnist Emmie Harrison-West wrote an op-ed titled, “Do we really need another skinny actress in a fat suit?”
“Of course — how else would the film industry portray an antagonist, who is evil, ugly and has a nasty disposition, than with a slim actress in a grotesque fat suit?” Harrison-West wrote.
“Yet, fat suits have been so normalized that some people probably haven’t even noticed — and that is what is so frustrating,” the writer added.
One person tweeted, “Really disheartening to see such a beautiful woman having to go to such measures for a role.”
“Honestly, I thought we were getting more progressive as a society. But this is just backwards. So hideous,” another wrote on social media.
Thompson has yet to respond to the comments.