Earlier this week, some sites had photos of Amy Schumer on vacation in Hawaii. The photos looked like every other Hawaii-vacation photo set: Schumer was splashing around in the water with her boyfriend, and she was wearing a one-piece swimsuit. You can see the Daily Mail’s original story here – they basically make a big deal about the stylishness and on-trend-ness of Amy’s one-piece swimsuit and they barely mention her body. The photos were the very definition of low-impact pap photos. But Schumer decided to make the photos into a thing by posting the above Instagram with the message:
I meant to write “good morning trolls!” I hope you find some joy in your lives today in a human interaction and not just in writing unkind things to a stranger you’ve never met who triggers something in you that makes you feel powerless and alone. This is how I look. I feel happy. I think I look strong and healthy and also like miss trunchbull from Matilda. Kisses!
I really want to know… is Amy trolling for attention/criticism or is she responding to the near-constant body-policing that goes around being a woman in the world? Or both? I think there’s a good dose of “the Lena Dunham Method” here, which is to make a big deal about how something you’re doing or wearing is “controversial,” which then gets more attention for being controversial. But I also think Amy gets legitimately body-policed for her figure and she has every right to speak about that. But wouldn’t the smart choice – if the body-criticizing trolls truly are powerless and alone – be to ignore them or post something positive? I don’t know. I really don’t.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and Amy’s Instagram.
Yeah, no. I thought this was pretty funny and I’m sure that there were plenty of trolls in the comments section of the Daily Mail who let her know (in no uncertain terms) that she doesn’t look like Gisele Bundchen. So I thought her response was on point.
I’ve just checked the article and yes, the comments are hateful. Also, I am positive she gets a daily barrage of it on her social media pages.
I don’t much care for her and I thought ‘here we go again’, but I looked at the comments too and they are vile. It appears that regular looking people on a beach are offensive, perhaps it is time we brought back bathing machines and wrist to ankle bathing suits?
Agreed. She’s the target here, she’s got every right to respond to it however she pleases.
I don’t know why there’s such a fixation on this topic. She looks fine just the way she is, in a bathing suit. It’s so incredibly shallow and trivial to be commenting about someone’s body with such venomous fervor. It doesn’t matter. Find some worthwhile meaning in your lives. This is not it.
Many comments about most women in the Daily Mail are truly vile. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Kardashian-Jenners, Amy Schumer, The Duchess, a model…everyone is fair game. We recently had an awards show 🇦🇺 when a TV presenter of Egyptian origin won the top award. Let’s not even talk about the hatred that elicited… He’s married to an academic who converted to Islam in her teens, long before she met him. While most of the female ‘slebs were in the usual attire of see-through/slashed/plunging “gowns”, Susan Carland wore a beautiful lilac-blue satin gown, with a high, rhinestone-embellished neckline, along with her headwear. (Sorry, I’m not sure what her particular headwear is called.) She’s a beautiful (very slim) woman who looked stunning. Yet, even she got slammed for being fat… I’m not surprised that AS posted this, as I’d bet she cops a lot of disgusting comments on a daily basis. Even ignoring them would be difficult; ignore 100 and 1000 more step in. Can they not delete/block these twisted, nasty people? I’m not on any social networks, so might be barking up the wrong tree.
The trolling needs to stop IMO. And not just Amy, but a lot more of them. Jenny Slate is at it now that her IG gets some attention and its tiresome. AND NOT FUNNY.
I find her schtick annoying, but I did click the link and read the comments, and while the article itself doesn’t warrant a response like this, the comments are pretty gross.
I didn’t read the comments but I believe you. It’s the Daily Fail though you know? The comments section is as bad as Youtube or Yahoo. Just avoid it, Amy. Ugh.
I agree. I totally avoid the comments on DM. They are some of the worst (along with the ones on Radaronline).
DM comments are the worst! Well maybe just as bad as youtube. I know some people, ok my co-worker, who go on the comment section without even reading the article because they want to laugh at the stupid comments.
Amy’s whole schtick is based on the fact that she got famous, went to LA, and discovered that in Hollywood, the normal look is considered fat. It is the topic of all her comedy now, and her bread-and-butter. She needs to find new material.
Her new season has been surprisingly versatile when it comes to material. She’s definitely branching out from fat or sex sketches.
I was just coming to say this lol.
I wish her try-hard wasn’t so strong.
She’s exhausting.
She really is Kitten. She just seems so “extra” all the time.
I’ve said this before on other Amy posts… but when she co-hosted Hoppus on Music – I would ALWAYS have to change the channel. As much as I love Mark Hoppus, I couldn’t handle her. And this was like 2010-2012 I think. I thought I’d never have to see her again on tv haha. And now she’s like surged in popularity. And I’m still not sure HOW. She’s still annoying. She’s still a mess. And she’s still ridiculously try-hard.
This is a great single word description.
I recently watched about five minutes of her stand-up, plus Trainwreck. Could not define what I found I unlikeable about her, but the word ‘exhausting’ sums it up.
Kitten, a little OT, but every time I see Gone Girl on cable rotation, I think of how you described it. Not one likeable character. Ugh.
She truly is. I’m all for body positivity but she just uses it to get attention.
I mean, she’s an entertainer, the entertainment industry does tend to attract people who enjoy attention, as it is a necessary and inevitable part of being successful at the job.
This. She makes fun of other celebrity bodies and gets away with it because she’s a comedienne but if the table is turned and she’s the one who’s being made fun of, she gets pissed and starts ranting on how she’s being bullied and all. She’s exhausting.
Is this damage control after the whole magazine plus size thing?
As someone who was very fat, for most of my life, I think the only way to deal with this is to ignore them. People are cruel. It’s just the way it is. After a while you get numb to it.
But she gets attention so I guess she has to do it.
In regards to your second paragraph: Yes, and Amy is not “very fat”, she’s just not a typical Hollywood size 2. Additionally, she’s a rich and famous celebrity, not a regular person like you or me. My point being that she still has it better than you did and you were strong enough to ignore the criticism so why isn’t she? I’m not defending trolls by any means, but I mean come on.
IDK…it almost seems like she enjoys the criticism on some level. So much of her public identity has come from having an unconventional body and a non-LA Face that this is just more fuel for her schtick.
Yeah, that’s also perplexing. She is not fat, she’s a comedian, and as someone in the public eye youd think she’ll be immune to these things. I think most of the people in Hollywood face criticism for the first time when they get famous so they don’t know how to deal with it.
But she benefits from responding. So I guess it’s a calculated move.
Her worst quality is constantly fighting back on social media — it doesn’t fit with her smart girl persona that she sells. Let it go, Amy.
Exactly. It reveals an insecurity that she purports not to have. Letting it go is really the best advice.
It’s not just that it is off-brand for her to challenge trolls in social media, but that it’s such a Sisyphean task as well. Social media isn’t a sports tournament or video game where by conquering each troll you will eventually get to the ‘Big Bad’ troll who, once defeated, will leave you the victor. It’s never-ending! You fight and fight and fight and eventually you run out of energy and retire from the lists and all your trolls celebrate in ‘victory’. If she still wants to engage, I’d rather see her set clear criteria for when to do so — maybe only engage with identifiable, real-name trolls, or only address it when it affects her family, point out behaviour that skirts criminality, etc.
Girl, Listen .. If I had your kind of money I’d have to be paid to CARE what people think of my body as i’m with my cute dude in a tropical location
Wisdom.
Amen to that!
You just said what I tried to say above in a far more effective way.
There should be a QQ button/function where we can QQ-ify our comments so as to save us all some typing.
alt+QQ
I second that emotion. I also need one for you, GNAT and Eternal Side Eye.
Exactly QQ! Bitch you’re on vacation, why do you give any f*cks??? She is just EXTRA.
I mean really.
Right? Yeah, you’re always right.
I agree with this. If I were rich and happy and in Hawaii, the last thing I’d be doing is looking up internet comments about myself. I’d be enjoying all my good fortune!
I don’t blame her for wanting to stick up for herself, but I think there’s more power in ignoring it and being happy, and only speaking on it when necessary. This wasn’t necessary.
deadddd @ ALT QQ
Listen Exactly Lucy2 Id be so fat and drinky on purpose and send and take so many big hat toast Tah Tah! pics, I’d show you my man’s nearly naked body as much as possible and all the famousy types i kick it with No Caption LOL That’s if im not too rich to NDA the f*ck out of everyone’s life
“drinky” !!!
When you bring attention to it then? If your so unbothered and happy then show that instead of doing what the trolls want you to do and respond.
People judge people, that’s life and Amy your not immune to it.
Because it gets her attention as this super body positive person.
I’m all for body positivity. But I seriously don’t think schumer is a good person. I think she’s very quick to lash out and does not seem very real… ugh. I’m just not into her.
Agreed on all counts.
ITA there’s something so incredibly disingenuous about her.
I’m sure she has been at the trolling side of the screen very often.
Troll comments are written by real people. Real, insecure, self-loathing, attention-seeking, sad, but actually pretty normal people. That’s why trolls are mostly teenagers. It’s the new way of venting out their insecurities, bullying strangers because they can’t bully people in real life.
From the way she behaves now, I’m pretty sure Amy grew up really hating herself. And you know what? I get the feeling the ghost of self-hatred is still hunting her, in different ways.
I’m not a fan, she’s just “too much”.
That said, I think she looks damn good in her swimsuit.
I’d say the smart thing to do is not post your personal life on social media for mass consumption b/c you know you’re going to get flack. But, I do beleive it is her bread and butter to keep the “standards of beauty” topic alive and strong as it pertains to her. I realize there is a problem with the unacceptance of non-traditional beauty, etc. but for Amy, it’s pretty much her job to maintain a level of anger and use it for stand up material. I do think she trolls. I do think she initiates some of the hoopla. I have grown tired of her schtick, her mantra. While I see the issue as problematic and wish people were more kind and accepting, I also think the fight to redefine beauty is fruitless. We are more accepting than we used to be, but there will never be a day that anybody looks at Amy Schumer and says, “Wow! That is one beautiful woman!” It’s never going to happen. It would be nice if at least people didn’t rip on her on her own instagram, but isn’t that kind of what instagram is for celebrities? It’s never been just fans. Since it came out, it’s been just as much about enemies and arguing. So, IMO she knows exactly what she’s doing and there is a purpose – she’s getting something out of it.
I understand that celebs want to have exposure, but some seem to court controversy. It’s like a cycle they want to feed with their posts and pap pics.
I think she’s really pretty. I really like her face.
Another thought comes to mind. I really miss Phyllis Diller and the less obnoxious 1960s-1970s style of standup. Phyllis made a comedy career based on her looks, without constantly trolling the public.
Amy needs a Fang.
The difference is Phyllis Diller was completely self-deprecating. That was her schtick – to rip on herself, make fun of herself, talk about how unsexy she was. Amy’s schtick is the opposite – I’m fat, I was a monster kid with boobs and baby teeth, but don’t tell me I’m not beautiful. Amy sort of self-deprecates, but then always turns it into “there’s all kinds of beautiful.” And recently, “my boyfriend thinks I’m hot!” I guess it’s one of those things where she can call herself names but nobody else better. That’s never going to fly as a celebrity. And there are always going to be hateful people just waiting to jump on her for daring to call herself anything but fat. Sad but true.
She’s always doing the most on her social media, I’d definitely put her in the Chrissy Teigen and Lena Dunham group. I don’t doubt that there are trolls who come for her body, but she can’t make her whole schtick about how “she’s fat but still getting men”(her words) and then get mad because she gets put in a magazine with plus size women. There are plus size actresses in Hollywood who extensively promote body positivity but don’t make it their only talking point in interviews.
The comments are gross, but I would not call her body strong looking.
She has every right to call the trolls on the internet. People insulting strangers like that while hiding in anonimity is not something worthy of being protected.
But that doesn’t stop me from thinking she’s a made a schtick out of this whole thing, to the point it’s basically what sustains her career. Every time I watch her show or her stand up, she brings up her weight at some point. She’s talking about sex and then makes it all about how her weight. She talks about clothing and makes it all about her weight. She talks about other women and makes it all about her weight. That’s why I don’t think she’s all that upset about the horrible comments – because now she has an actual excuse to do what she always does – bring up her weight.
You know what I see? A lot of f–king self loathing. A girl who grew up hating her body so much, she needs to shove it down everyone’s throats now so we all see how happy she is and how much she loves it.
Your last paragraph is spot on! She seems to have some dueling going on inside. I do not beleive for one moment that she is confident and “good with herself.” I also don’t beleive she’s really happy. I’m sure there are happy moments and more than there used to be for her, but she has deep-seeded issues about self image she hasn’t gotten over and all the gushing about herself makes it all the more apparent. And now she’s created quite a dilemma for herself. If she lost weight and got in shape and truly felt good about her self-image, she would lose her entire stand-up material, her fanbase would see her as a fraud, and she’d have no career. Hmmm….
But calling them out doesn’t stop them, all it does is give them the attention they so desperately seek. This is like Trolling:101: DO NOT FEED.
For her, I think it’s less about holding people responsible for their actions and more about getting headlines, as I alluded to above and as you say in your comment here. She knows if she brings her body into it, it will get her press. Again. she’s exhausting and disingenuous.
Ignoring them won’t stop them, either. It’s far worse, actually, as it normalizes this type of behavior as just a “part of the internet” everyone has to deal with. For every person who decided to feed a troll by replying, there’s literal thousands (heck, maybe millions) who read the comment and decided to just ignore it.
And yes, I’m aware replying to them will only invite more people to judge her body. My point wasn’t so much about what’s the best course of action for Amy, but about this horrible things people feel entitled to say on the internet, and how society just accepts it. We’ve been ignoring trolls since the dawn of the internet. It’s time we stop that.
I think the problem isn’t the message but the messenger. If this exact same statement came from someone like Adele, I wouldn’t have any problems with it. But Amy’s whole career revolves around this, so when she does it it feels like self-promotion more than anything.
But bullies weren’t created by the internet. They’ve been around since the dawn of time and they will be here for eternity.
I don’t disagree that bullying and trolling has become normalized by the sheer accessibility of social media, I just disagree with you that the solution is to call them out. To me, the responsibility should be put squarely on the shoulders of the forum that allows trolls to exist. If blogs and sites can’t be bothered to hire moderators, then this is what will happen.
Barring that, if Amy feels like Instagram is a hostile environment, then she should just avoid it entirely. She has zero obligation to have an IG page. If she feels like she has to have it to further her career, then she should either avoid the comments section or block commenters who are rude to her. In terms of the Daily Mail, as I said above, they are notorious for having some of the most vicious commenters and I highly doubt that Amy was unaware of this.
*shrugs*
I didn’t say it was the solution. I said ignoring the problem is worse. How are sites going to feel any pressure to moderate well if no one is really complaining? I avoid sites like all those you mentioned. And you know… that’s why they don’t bother at all with moderators. Because everyone lets them be. Twitter is a far bigger platform than DM, and it’s not hard to find actual hate speach there. Look at what happened with Azealia Banks. She had thousands of followers, she said bigoted shit on a daily basis, and she wasn’t banned until last week. After years of the same behavior. Why? Because everyone just accepted that’s who she is, and if you didn’t like her, just ignore her. You can literally do that. “Block” people. Ignore, so you don’t complain.
The way I feel about this is the same I feel about Paparazzi. Because the message comes from celebs, who benefit and work with this, people fixate on the validity of them making said comments, instead of the content itself. Hypocrisy aside, why are people supposed to ignore or not be bothered by this?
I think she is using her celebrity to say to those trolls what so many of us regular folks wish we could say to them. For chrissakes, she’s standing up to trolls who cyber bully “fat” people all damn day and some of you on here are shaming her for doing that? WTF?
It looks like she’s lost some weight, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she did this to get attention for it.
That’s exactly what’ve thought, too.
I appreciate women standing up for themselves. But Amy has run out of chances for me to give her the benefit of the doubt. She’s a celebrity troll, like Lena Dunham. And she is all about her own self, I think this is very calculated to once again allow her to hear people say “but she’s not fat.. she looks good… she’s actually thinner” etc.
Absolutely agree with everyone who says that she trolls for the attention as fodder for her brand of comedy.
And no, I don’t think she looks strong; I think she looks like a normal woman who doesn’t exercise much and doesn’t have much muscle mass. That’s what I look like too, so I’m not shaming her for it, but I’m not going to hold her up as a role-model, either.
All that being said, her “Girl You Don’t Need Makeup” sketch was funny, and I watch it occasionally when I need a giggle. I love the generic boy band guys.
I think she looks fit and healthy… her appearance doesn’t have to be intrinsically tied to her exercise regime. Women can exercise without having visible cut muscle def
Exactly Lex!
If she were truly happy and confident about her normal size, she wouldn’t repeatedly lie about what size she wears. And she wouldn’t be responding to internet trolls while she’s on vacation in Hawaii. She’s an attention hound.
This. The lack of self-awareness from people who look for validation from strangers on social media is perplexing. And, like other posters said above, she’s disingenuous in her comments about body positivity, size etc.
I can see her wearing a US 6 (AUS 10) – she is relatively up and down. Without seeing her in relation to other normal people. it’s easy to see how people think she’s gigantic (standing next to size 2 celebs) but she really isn’t. Stand her next to Christina Hendricks and get a bit of perspective about her actual size.
Agree 1000%. She makes herself the butt of her jokes, so others don’t do it first. It is getting very old and her fame clock is ticking loudly
I really dig Amy. I’ve seen her live, watched her program and her movie. She’s clever funny and smart. I wish she could rise above her obsession with making everyone like her and accept her. People write nasty comments for many reasons and her acknowledgement of them just fuels it, IMO. Cash that check, put on your bikini, and move forward. Mean people don’t change.
All I see in that picture is a healthy-looking, normal-looking woman enjoying the beach. Good for her.
Her standup is beyond hilarious. But does she have anything else to talk about other than her size in her every-day life? Does she need to get into these pointless fights with random nobodies on the dreaded SM like every week?
We get it: you are heavier than the typical celeb, happy about it, and you are sensitive & don’t like people talking about it.
Enough already.
She’s a target because she makes herself a target. Get off Twitter, stop reacting to all the trolls & just STFU. She is so immature & thin skinned
Look, SHE was the one who responded in the first place/a few months ago that she is a size 6 or 8. MY ASS!