Back when Identity Thief first came out, an elderly movie critic named Rex Reed made a bunch of mean, sizeist comments about Melissa McCarthy, as if her size was at all relevant to her performance. He called Melissa a “female hippo,” wrote that she was “cacophonous, tractor-sized,” and claimed she was “a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success.” Melissa didn’t deign to respond to that, and she of course had the last laugh when the movie went on to be a big commercial success.
Countless people expressed outrage at Reed’s comments, and in a new NY Times interview, a full four months after the controversy, Melissa has finally addressed it. This is how you respond to some bullsh*t like this – you wait a handful of months and then you address the larger point and the real meaning of those hateful comments. Melissa is as classy as she is funny.
When Ms. McCarthy was asked about the review over lunch in April, her characteristically cheerful tone evaporated. In a softer voice, she said her initial reaction to reading it had been “Really?” and then, she said, “Why would someone O.K. that?”
Without mentioning the name of its author, Ms. McCarthy said: “I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate. I just thought, that’s someone who’s in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot. I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids who are mooning me and singing me songs.”
Had this occurred when she was 20, Ms. McCarthy said, “it may have crushed me.” But now, as a mother raising two young daughters in “a strange epidemic of body image and body dysmorphia,” she said articles like that “just add to all those younger girls, that are not in a place in their life where they can say, ‘That doesn’t reflect on me.’ ”
“That makes it more true,” she said. “It means you don’t actually look good enough.”
Ms. McCarthy was about to say more when the restaurant began a long and very loud test of its fire alarm.
“I imagine that’s my publicist,” she said after a tension-breaking laugh. “The gods didn’t want us discussing this.”
I really hope that The Heat, Melissa’s buddy cop movie with Sandra Bullock, is a success. The trailer makes it look hilarious, and it’s a real step forward in the new trend of female-oriented comedies. I’m going to do my part to support it and will try and see it on opening weekend in a couple of weeks. It’s out June 28th!
One thing I learned from this profile is that Melissa is working on a comedy with Susan Sarandon. I love it. Melissa plays “an irresponsible woman on a road trip with her tough-as-nails grandmother.” They’re filming this summer and the movie was co-written and is directed by her husband, Ben Falcone. We’re going to see a lot more of the very talented and funny Melissa. Anyone who has a problem with that is going to get shot down by public opinion pretty quickly.
Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock are shown in April at Cinemacon. Credit: WENN.com
I like Melissa a lot. I think she is extremely talented. I won’t be seeing Heat at the theater. I didn’t think it looked hilarious at all. I would love to see her play a character that is not the sloppy big girl. Which it seems she is only cast as. She deserves better. And you can have a comedy movie with a woman that is not tiny without her being the unkempt one. I think when she accepts these kinds of roles she maybe without knowing plays into that negative image. Unfairly so but still. She is beautiful and sexy; She had the hot sexy lines in Bridesmaids on the plane.
she is not unattractive on TV so why do it in movie after movie.
I agree with you about her playing the same character. She is good at what she does but I hope she doesn’t become the female version of Vince Vaughn or Adam Sandler.
this! i dont want to see anyone, male or female, just play some gross slob over and over. she was adorable on gilmore girls.
Totally agree! I won’t see it, either, and think that they should’ve reversed the roles. Have her as the FBI agent and Sandra as the harsher one. Some of the supposed jokes were awful in the trailer that I saw, so I’ll wait for it to come to television.
I remember on GG, she played a chef who found the love of her life and got married, had kids etc and that was that. I would love to see her in a character similar to Sookie, not the one that she is always cast as.
The Sherman-Palladino’s are amazing writers.
Lots of excellent points and I’m on the fence about this issue. We certainly don’t need to encourage the plus sized woman stereotype. It gets old when films go out of their way to repeatedly make a joke at the character’s expense because “She’s fat! It’s funny! Not sure if you noticed, but being fat is funny!”
On the other end, I’m not sure if audiences really take that to heart in a negative way. Were people ever concerned that John Candy was being typecast? Surely Melissa can find other projects to do if she had a problem with it. So should we? I think her success as a comedic actress will outshine this “fat and unkempt” thing. Maybe she just needs to switch it up and try a drama.
Regarding John Candy.. at some point the typecast begins to hinder the actor. Candy is a good example of how it works against you in the end. And sadly Mr. Candy passed away too young (43 years of age). Even looking at male comedians; they age out of the silly roles. Look at Jim Carrey; even Sandler looks silly acting like a teen then a grown man. But I guess his audience doesn’t care.
The trailer made me cringe it looked so bad to me; and I think there is a way to make comedy more smart. We see it on TV so why can’t they do that on the big screen.
The one who worked the “big boy” thing to death was Chris Farley, John Candy was nothing compared to Farley. I couldn’t even watch him sometimes it was so cringe inducing.
I really want The Heat to be so great. Love Melissa. She just seems like an awesome lady.
Agree on all of this.
Great smile!!
Despite being overweight, she looks happy and quite lovely. I bet she has an awesome personality.
She is an awesome women period. There shouldn’t be despite, anything. I don’t believe being over weight is a character flaw. She’s funny, smart, beautiful, cool and kind.
If a person can’t see who you are in your core, then they are someone you shouldn’t waste time on them.
I really like her
I think this movie looks very lame and cliche, cheesy. just awful.
this woman is not funny. makes me cringe.
I’m with you. It looks SO bad.
Rex Reed is a consummate douche. Melissa McCarthy is a consummate professional. The best revenge is living well, right? Kudos to her for being a strong and graceful woman in a dirty & bitter industry.
The guy that said that stuff is a douche, clearly, and Melissa is an attractive, talented woman with a bright future ahead of her and she’s one of my few role models in Hollywood. Such a positive, bright lady.
that is a pretty filthy diss. no me gusta! 🙁
what a respectful way to answer that, that dude is a douche.
I’ll see Heat opening weekend just to do my part, plus it looked like it could be funny.
Yes the lady is a big girl, is it healthy – probably not. Is it ugly, that’s a matter of opinion.
I can absolutely guarantee you I’d prefer Melissa to Goop, Jenny McCarthy or a number of other proclaimed “beauties” any day since beauty on the inside is real and weight – well that can change. Ugliness on the inside, that rarely changes.
If I were her I’d tell them to bite my queen sized arse all at once and all the way to my success. Looks like the skinny mean girls and beautiful boys are a little confused by and jealous of her.
I pick Melissa any day over Goop or her crazy cousin Jenny. Those two offer nothing while Melissa is funny and warm and charming. I wish I could meet her, she seems so lovely.
I love her and how she handled. She’s right too- him saying such awful things was a reflection on him, not her.
I want to see The Heat, I think it looks funny.
What an asinine comment to make. If she feels great in her own skin and her husband loves for what she is what’s the f***ing big deal? With all the problems in the world media only focus on stupid things like this, i mean, come on.. who cares about her weight!
Calling someone a “female hippo” and all that jazz in public when being way over fifteen years old? That really makes me question the maturity level of Mr Rex Reed.
The End.
Rex is old – 74 years old. He is from a different view point. Give him a break. He is lucky to have a job, let alone given credence by our comments.
My Dad is five years older than him and would never call a lady a female hippo.
Age does not excuse mean. If anything, he should know better considering he comes from “a different time” where people were taught to keep their opinions to themselves.
So he’s an old little bitch. Alrighty then.
Come on people, he’s a critic, it’s what they do. I’m not defending him just pointing out that critics are naturally reviled.
nicely played, MMcM.
i also approve of an older actress (susan sarandon) not afraid of playing a grandmother. says much about sarandon.
I hate Rex Reed so much. What a pompous POS. This is the same guy that called “Blue Velvet” “the sickest film ever made”.
I just hope this man doesn’t have a daughter because these kinds of comments are so incredibly damaging to the collective female psych, particularly given the context. McCarthy’s weight shouldn’t even have been up for discussion-he was there to write a movie review, not to critique an actress’s appearance.
Lmao at the possibility of that old queen having a daughter. He’s probably never seen a vag off screen in his miserable life. No gay hate here just Rex hate. Go sooki!
Ha ha..oh I had no idea he was gay. oops! He’s still a d*ckshow IMO.
Rex doesn’t have a daughter. He is gay.
I think she is actually being hypocritical herself by saying that anyone else is living in a world of distorted body image when they say that she is fat. She is fat. Now, I don’t think she is a bad person for it or think she should endure slurs, but there is no reason that she should condone an unhealthy body image of being obese in the same manner that models should not be walking around with their ribs sticking out in ads. If she is a wonderful mother to two girls then maybe she should lead by healthy example and try to change her lifestyle. And before you all say that I shouldn’t comment on her body, just remember. Her image is her job. She chose this job. This stuff comes with the territory.
Well said.
What I think she was really saying is it’s going to be hard for her to raise her daughters in the strange epidemic of body disorder that is so prevalent in this age. She isn’t worried about herself but her daughters and the younger women who will have to deal with this. That’s my take on it, though.
I agree 100%!
1. She didn’t say she isn’t fat. Her comments about body image and body dysmorphia were about our culture more broadly, and are 100% true.
2. You have no idea whether she is living a healthy life. People’s size does not perfectly correlate to their lifestyle or health. If you looked at me you’d assume I’m healthier than she is because I’m skinny, but I would bet I have a significantly worse diet than she does. Maybe she isn’t eating a GOOP diet and working out 3 hours a day (which is actually unhealthy!) but I also don’t think she’s shoveling cheeseburgers into her mouth every five minutes. People who have the same diets and exercise patterns can end up at very different weights.
3. I have ZERO respect for the idea that people who criticize fat women are just genuinely concerned about their health or the message they’re sending to their kids about diet and exercise. Fat men don’t get the same level of criticism. People who smoke don’t get the same level of criticism. People who work 24/7 and say they never sleep don’t get the same level of criticism. It’s women who don’t have bodies who look the way society thinks they should who get the most crap thrown at them. I have zero worries that Melissa’s kids are being screwed up by having her as a mom — quite the opposite, I expect.
^^ that right there. I hate hate hate loathe concern trolling. “Oh but she could live so much longer :(” Go find someone with a pack of cigarettes, some people texting and driving, the people drinking themselves to death–but holy frijoles she’s fat she’s gonna diiiee.
Annadocial evidence aside (because it’s not a good argument) my great grandma lived to 89. She was 502lbs when she died. She was happy and surprisingly had very few problems. A bus accident to a church event is what killed her and the 10 people on it. Not diabetes (she didn’t have it) or high blood pressure (a little, she got diagnosed with it at 85) or not moving (she was almost 7 feet tall so she wasn’t wheel chair bound).
When it’s time, it’s time. ’til then, do you. And fk them other hoes.
Esti – thanks for this well thought out comment. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Life is long enough… who wants to live longer in a world filled with people who think it’s their job to tell you how to live?
@ MonicaQ: Awesome. Thanks for sharing about your great grandma (& I loathe concern trolling too)!
Well said Esti!
She said her daughters are growing up in an age where there is “a strange epidemic of body image and body dysmorphia,”, she didn’t say that anyone who thinks she’s fat has body dysmorphia. As many as 10 million women and girls suffer from anorexia and/or bulimia–that’s an alarming number if you ask me.
I think her point was that she’s HAPPY (we can all argue that she’s not but I’m taking her word for it) and the message she wants to give her children isn’t “fat is bad” or “fat is great” but rather a message of self-acceptance, regardless of what they look like.
I got the impression that she’s trying to show them that a woman’s happiness is not directly related to the number on a scale.
Everyone has already said everything I feel about this so +1,000 to Esti, MonicaQ and OKitten!
I’m with Jenny, you ladies already said everything and I completely agree with you all.
Staying fat is the only way she can get roles in hollywood. Sad but true. Actor and actress are public figures and they are always target for criticism although i think some of those so call film critics are just bullies. Melissa really doesn’t need to waste her time on responding to those people. Work hard and let your work speak for you.
So are you saying she is untalented as an actress?
I’m all for people or all shapes and sizes but we cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend we don’t have an obesity epidemic in this country. One of you mentioned smoking, a lot has been done socially to discourage smoking and to educate people about the risks. The same has to be done with obesity. This is not about body-shaming, not at all, it is about educating people so that they know how to take care of themselves so they feel good. Carrying a lot of extra fat is very hard on the body, you named one 500 pound grandma but she was an exception most people who are extremely over-weight do not make it to old age. Are you aware that many obese people suffer from malnutrition? Calories do not equal nutrition.
I don’t think anyone is “burying their heads in the sand” about obesity being a problem in America. On the contrary, I think at this point the public has been saturated with this message. Someone’s physical appearance, however, is not a proper diagnosis for health problems, unless you’re in the business of generalizations and stereotypes.
First this guy said intentionally rude things which are irrelevant to her performance.IT’s flat elementary school type of rudeness.
Second I don’t have problem with overweight comedians. I’ve no opinion on her talent but I like Down French A LOT.
But with risk to sound hatefull I have to say :It amazes me every time to read “I just thought, that’s someone who’s in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot. I laugh my head off every day ”
I remember how I felt in my last trimester weight. The back pain, the lower back pain, the knees that scream, the burning ankles after 30 min of WALKING!
I remember the angry red rash on the inner tights when wearing a skirt in summer and how I couldn’t spell my name in a single breath after climbing the stairs.
WHERE does she find the energy to “laugh her head off”? My daily discomfrt turned me into a wasp with PMS.
Some bodies are meant to be bigger, while others are meant to be smaller, imo. My body is supposed to be medium, but since I’m quite large at the moment, I’m having issues like you described. When I’m near the weight that’s good for my body, those issues disappear. Perhaps her body is just meant to be bigger.
I love Dawn French. I went on a Vicar of Dibley binge for a while… I love it. My mother finds it hilarious because I just turned 23 and I actually went home from a party in Uni when I wasn’t feeling great, crawled into bed, and watched the Vicar on PBS. I was about 20 at the time, and according to her, acting like someone 3 times that age.
You’ve just turned 23? Best wishes!
Dawn French can reduce me into puddle just with a raised eyebrow!
I loved The Vicar of Dibley, so I understand completely a binge on it!
The thing is… those issues aren’t tied solely to being overweight… Anyone can have bits that hurt for this reason or that. Because you felt that way, doesn’t mean other overweight people have those issues.
Oh and sadly the chubby thighs rubbing isn’t designated to fat legged people… I remember getting annoyed by it in high school and a friend of mine getting it too who was absolutely petite (and a national-level runner). It’s also related to how your body is put together – the angle of your hips etc.
Comparing your weight in your last trimester of pregnancy?
There is no comparison, being heavily pregnant is in no way like being fat.
I’ve been Skinny, pregnant while skinny, fat and pregnant while fat.
my being 8-9 months pregnant when I was skinny was sooooo much worse than me being 100 pounds over weight.
you wondering how she can have the energy to laugh her head off? it’s called moving around and endurance, just because your fat doesn’t mean you can’t walk upstairs and still be able to breathe.
There are lots and lots of fit fat people out there that go to the gym and exercise. Or go walking or do yoga.
Rex Reed sounds like a porn actor’s name.
that is a pretty filthy diss. no me gusta!!! 😡
I don’t find her at all funny and her size has nothing to do with it.
Yay for Melissa, she’s so talented and deserves a huge success.
Waaaay back in the late ’80’s – early 90’s I was a building service employee in Rex Reed’s building in NYC (college summer job). I’m not the least bit surprised by his comments (I was however surprised that he was still among the living, since I hadn’t heard anything about him in many years) – he was notoriously rude and difficult to deal with in a building that had its fair share of difficult famous/wealthy individuals.
Bet if she were male, Rex wouldn’t have blinked an eye about her weight. Can’t actually remember any serious critic saying such things when reviewing the work of similarly shaped male actors and comedians (and there are quite a few).
He’s always been an old bitch, he would have said “male hippo” too.
I’ve loved her since Gilmore Girls! Who didn’t like Sookie?! Rex Reed wouldn’t see talent if it slapped him in the face…
I’ve loved her since Gilmore Girls! Who didn’t like Sookie?! Rex Reed couldn’t see talent if it smacked him in the face…
Melissa has the potential to be funny, but in my opinion she’s not picking the best roles. She is always playing a woman who is sloppy, clumsy, socially awkward etc. Apparently not so much on Mike and Molly, but definitely in all her movies. Rex Reed is a pig for what he said and her response was very intelligent and articulate. It’s not a movie critic’s role to criticize her weight, he could have focused on how the role was completely one note and cliche (I saw Identity Thief because I love Jason Bateman). I just wish Melissa would stop being typecast in certain roles, but I think she will continue the same kind of character over and over again because she probably feels she has found her niche.
She has a pretty lengthy resume, and it seems like only in a few of her recent movies is she playing that sort of character.
I suspect The Heat would have been funnier if the ladies had swapped roles, with Melissa as the more proper, and Sandra the rougher one. She was so lovely in Gilmore Girls. I agree with those that say she’s succumbing to ‘fat lady’ typecasting when she’s obviously talented and capable of more subtle work. Fingers crossed for her.
I agree, have you seen her in The Life Of David Gale? She knows how to play extremely different roles!
I think she is clever and I hope she will not get typecast. Hopefully as her star continues to rise she can shake things up and display her amazing range in other types of roles as well.
Still won’t see this silly movie.
I’ve been a fan of hers since her days on Gilmore Girls. I loved that she was allowed to play Suki as a woman worthy of love regardless of her size. I think she’s a classy woman with huge talent.
I am frustrated that we’ve transitioned from celebrating anorexia to celebrating the acceptance of morbid obesity when neither one is or will ever be “healthy”.
Once someone becomes famous they become a role model whether they like that or not and people like Melissa and Adele and Beth Ditto make me sad – not because they don’t fit into a size 0 – but because they will continue to sell the idea that they are “oh so happy” in a body that is way too big for their hearts and skeletal frames to handle… instead of taking the opportunity windfall of cash from fame to become truly fit and represent the ability for people to overcome unhealthy lifestyles.
What I think is also sad is how so many people in the mainstream are encouraging these woman to “accept their bodies” and that they are “amazing the way they are” in order to have validation for their own unwillingness to accept that real and hard change is necessary in their own lives in order to be healthier.
Unfortunately – even if any of these people made the decision to get the weight off… they’d probably opt for an unhealthy method which totally negates the point. sigh.
*steps down from soap box*
Have to say, I’ve NEVER seen anyone “celebrate the acceptance of morbid obesity”.
Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but it sounds like you’re confusing body acceptance with obesity acceptance. Body acceptance to me is not saying “it’s great to be fat!” but instead learning to not tie your whole identity and self worth into your weight or size. It’s also doing the same for others, valuing them for their character, intelligence, and actions, vs. only their appearance.
I also don’t see why it’s impossible to believe that Melissa or Adele is happy – both have love, family, money, industry respect, and amazing careers. There are plenty of fit people who aren’t happy, and would probably love to those successes.
THIS.
I get what you’re saying about not making body weight your whole world. However, it’s important not to miss that obesity kills. If this woman had track marks from shooting up, would all of her accomplishments completely overshadow that? Or would getting her clean from addiction be more of a priority?
When I see someone who is over weight I see an addict or a person with an untreated medical disorder or both. Shouldn’t getting healthy take priority over everything else?
@Lucy2: Very well said.
“unwillingness to accept that real and hard change is necessary in their own lives in order to be healthier.” I have never struggled with my weight and have always been thinner than the average American woman, so I can’t speak from personal experience about trying to lose weight – but my understanding is that it is hard, hard work and to do it in a healthy way can take a long time. That said, I don’t understand why you assume that MMc hasn’t realized, accepted and/or isn’t working on being healthier and losing weight. You presumably don’t know the woman, right? So why do you assume she hasn’t realized and/or isn’t doing that?
Who is accepting morbid obesity? I am against nasty hateful people of ALL shapes, sizes, age, gender and sexual orientation. And I haven’t seen a single post here that could possibly have been construed to be accepting of unhealthy life styles.
As our society has been getting fatter there has been a growing tide of “fat acceptance”. It is a thorny issue. One the one hand we don’t want to body-shame people or encourage self-loathing and on the other we don’t want to encourage self-destructive lifestyles. All I can say is the obesity epidemic is real and the consequences are not good for any of us. We cannot continue to pretend that it’s not a problem.
Rex Reed is a douchebag. She is hilarious. Love her!
Rex Reed is an old queen whose bitterness over his own lack of achievement in life is now evidently consuming him. Melissa McCarthy has more talent in her pinky than he ever had. She’s having tremendous success in her career, and it sounds like she has a really happy personal life as well. The best revenge, as they say! 🙂
Can’t wait to see the movie with her and Susan Sarandon – that sounds fun!
Mr. Reed fails to realize that his unfortunate choice of words about a talented and funny woman is more a reflection of and commentary on him, than it ever will be of Melissa.
Like others have said, I’ll be there to watch this just to do my part – it’s way past time we had a female buddy-cop movie.
I didn’t think the trailer looked too funny, tbh… but whatever. This one may not be, but if it does well there will be others like it, along with the opportunity for improvement.
I’m all for female driven movies but if they keep turning out bad movies it really defeats the purpose.
The editorial team should also be responsible for approving this kind of juvenile review. Seeing the comments by fellow CBs remind me again why I love this site! There’s a healthy balance of opinions and I learn things even, especially when it comes to things I have not experienced like motherhood. Anyway, can I please have a proper funny, non-juvenile female comedy with her, Sandra, Rebel Wilson, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler pls!!!
“a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success.”
And there are male comedians who haven’t? Only we talk about whether they’re funny or not (usually they use size into the jokes, but sometimes the jokes fall flat). We don’t talk about how ‘shameless’ they are for using their size to be funny, or how that’s all they are. We certainly don’t call them rude names with reference to size. So in addition to being just wrong, double standards much?
If you think Melissa is the only heavy performer to hear about it you’ve sure been under a rock a long time. It may be sexism in this case, Rex is such an old Queen, but plenty of others have been seen as gimmick actors who used their weight as a big part of their schtick.
Susan Sarandon is playing Melissa’s GRANDMOTHER? How can that be?
Yeah, I wondered the same. SS is old enough to be a grandmother in real life, but not, I think, to someone MMcC’s age (unless she was a Teen Mom like on one of today’s other threads…) 😉
Lover her.
That review by Rex was vile. He is vile.
So Old Rex wants to talk trash?
Let’s talk him in Myra Breckinridge pegging – dude please it doesn’t get more gay than that. So talk your own sh*t and STFU up about everyone else.
Love her! Cannot wait to see The Heat!!
People get so offended now when women are called fat. (rightly so) but why is it ok to call women that are thinner such awful names and assume that those women are doing drugs or not eating or other things. But if you say a woman is fat or overweight people rush to defend that body type now. Saying her weight doesn’t mean that she is unhealthy or that it is just genetics or that she is not overeating.
I guess people have limited contact with others outside their social life. I see people that are all shapes and sizes. But I don’t see people that are overweight living for longer periods of time then those that are thinner.
Rex Reed is a(n) find your word. but people online say nasty things like this all the time. I think we should show our outrage all the time and not when it is just about someone we like.
+1000! Thank you! I understand the criticism is hard on bigger girls, but I have been naturally thin my whole life and was teased for it in middle & high school- I assure you, being called anorexic is just as hurtful as a fat comment- I actually asked my mom to take me to a dietician to help me GAIN weight because I was so sick of the teasing(she refused, of course, as I was perfectly healthy)! Of course, years later as an adult, I am happy with myself the way I am, but where on earth do people get off insulting skinny girls and insisting that they don’t eat?! If you’re going to claim that your genetics and natural body type make you a little heavier, then why can’t the same be true for thin people? And please don’t get me started on the whole “real women have curves thing.” Total insult to all women, as it places all your self worth as a female in your physical appearance. I weigh 105, and am a wife, mother, and college graduate…it’s too bad I don’t have extra curves to make me a real woman!
How about…real women have curves, boyish figures, apple shapes, pear shapes, hourglass figures…and a real woman is more than just the sum of her body parts.
Bullying is never fun, thick or thin but you really have to realize how much worse it is for heavy people. People are so incredibly mean to over-weight people, all the time, everywhere. Not just a rude comment here or there but all over the place, everyday, everywhere you go type of thing. Often even at home. People staring and making rude comments, Skinny people just aren’t experiencing nearly the same level of societal abuse and body shaming. I had a dear friend growing up who had weight issues and her mother laid into her constantly, it was truly awful. She was abused at home and then picked on at school. She eventually had to be pulled out of the school because she was so miserable there. It’s not the same, I’m sorry but it’s not.
I’m sorry your friend dealt with that. My aunt died of a heart attack before I was born; she was 30 years old and morbidly obese in a family full of naturally thin women (thyroid issue). She was a beautiful person but wouldn’t allow her picture to be taken most of the time because she hated her own appearance so much, and in the few photos she did allow, she looks miserable. So I do understand the other side, and understand it well. You can say it’s not the same for thin people who get insulted, but the concept and often the result are the same- you are making someone feel horrible about themselves for something that is often beyond their control. Being body-snarked sucks no matter why it’s happening. My point in bringing it up was that after all these years of being bullied, it seems that a lot of heavier women want to turn the tables, so to speak, on the thin girls and give them a hard time now. Just because heavier girls may have a harder time, that doesn’t justify all the skinny-hate, in my opinion. Not to be cheesy, but I wish women would just learn to support each other. Supposedly men and the media push all these beauty stereotypes, but I see women tearing each other down more than anything.