Renée Zellweger responded to criticism about the actress donning a fatsuit and prosthetics for her latest role instead of the part going to a plus-sized alternative.
During the 53-year-old’s recent interview with The Sunday Times, the “Chicago” star discussed her portrayal of real-life killer Pam Hupp in the upcoming NBC true crime series, “The Thing About Pam,” the Daily Mail reported.
“Look, you want to be respectful and responsible,” Zellweger explained. “There’s always a limit to how much you can establish an authentic approximation without being distracting.”
Renee Zellweger responds to criticism for wearing controversial fat-suit and prosthetics to play real life killer Pam Hupp https://t.co/7Ce26R8qe0
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) August 8, 2022
The outlet noted that the actress previously gained weight for her memorable role as Bridget Jones in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” films. However, this time Zellweger opted for the fatsuit and prosthetics to transform into Hupp, who is currently serving a life sentence for the 2016 murder of Louis Gumpenberger.
Plus-size writer Sarah Alexander told Metro UK that there were plenty of “talented plus-size actresses that could have been hired” instead and asked why they were “overlooked and a fat suit considered a viable option?”
Alexander said that for Zellweger to “masquerade as a plus-size person” is “damaging, fatphobic and potentially triggering to other plus-size people.”
“It seems like she has not considered the effects this will have on fat people, and is unaware and/or naive that she is adding to the stigma fat people already face on a daily basis,” the writer added.
Actor Brendan Fraser recently talked about his return to Hollywood in Darren Aronofsky’s drama “The Whale.” For the movie, Fraser wore a fatsuit to transform into the role of Charlie, a 600-pound man struggling to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
Premiering at the 79th Venice Film Festival 🇮🇹
• Darren Aronofsky's THE WHALE starring Brendan Fraser and Sadie Sink
• Joanna Hogg's THE ETERNAL DAUGHTER starring Tilda Swinton
• Ti West's PEARL starring Mia Goth pic.twitter.com/AxlAbhWDRo— A24 (@A24) July 26, 2022
Fraser’s movie is based on a play by the same name written by Samuel D. Hunter.
“It’s gonna be like something you haven’t seen before,” the actor previously told Unilad about the role. “That’s really all I can tell you…The wardrobe and costume was extensive, seamless, cumbersome. This is certainly far removed from anything I’ve ever done but not to be coy…I do know it’s going to make a lasting impression.”