Fat Suit Extravaganza!

Aubrey’s golden nugget around the 40min mark just unlocked something in this activist’s brain. So fucking intelligent and insightful. I’ve listened to every ep of MP and only just subscribed here for the bonus eps. I’ve adored everything you’ve done but this small chunk of information is something I won’t be able to stop thinking about for a long time.

Carly Middap

Long time listener, recent subscriber ❤️ One thing that's missing from the best of enemies commentary is the way that fatness is racialised. Fat black women are baked into Hollywood's history. Black actresses were expected to be fat to play the mammy. The large bust is part of this. The fat black bust evokes breastfeeding, rather than sexuality. Taraji's fat suit reflects that.

Maz Hedgehog

I looked up Sarah Paulson fat suit and there's multiple pulls from the personal fat suit designer. This felt even weirder... to see a thin woman crafting a fat suit. She is calling it a fat suit. And she is publicly expressing pride in her work. I am not trying to single her out. Just interesting to see how far the suit goes down the line.

bluejean101

I’m so late but I would LOVE to hear this conversation after “The Whale” with Brendan Frazier came out, and the insanity of the fat suit use in that movie

Rachel Levy

In the movie "Run Fat Boy Run", Simon Pegg wears the tiniest, barely necessary fat suit. He's not even fat in the movie.

Andrew Dunn

So I can't get to the article that Aubry wrote on Insatiable, which is disappointing cus I wanted to hear her take. I was actually pleasantly surprised about how insatiable handled eating disorders and how they talked openly about how fat people can have eating disorders too. I had an eating disorder growing up, so that's one of the reasons I liked the show. I remember a lot of the discourse was over people who had just seen the trailer (which Michael pointed out in the shallow hal episode, the trailer is the thing most people see so it DOES matter).

Kiki

It would very incorrect

slushie girl

I'm commenting this so late because I just joined the patreon, but I remember really enjoying the book Holes by Louis Sachar when I was young. I think I was a preteen when the film adaptation came out, and they cast Shia LeBouf to play Stanley. Being fat was part of Stanley's story and identity and although I didn't have the words for it when I was 11, I felt like it took away from the original story to cast someone skinny. There aren't many books I've read, especially books for kids, where the protagonist is specifically, explicitly fat, and not carrying that over to the movie was a bummer to me.

Anya Samiljan

What the ****

sarah eaton

Christy

She was an executive producer and essentially hired herself

Lisa Fite

I think the thing that bothered me the most about Sara Paulson’s response was the implication that it not enough to “just be fat” you also have to be a good actress.. She both pats herself on the back and insinuates that there just aren’t any fat actresses that are good enough. It’s not that. There was no casting call for that part. She GAVE it to herself. And it’s not like there was any need to have a thin version and a fat version. It’s portraying a real life fat person that stays fast. She literally took a job opportunity away from someone that very very rarely gets an opportunity.

Lisa Fite

Insatiable came out when I was 14-15 and I remember fighting with people on Tumblr of all places about how fucked it was. I didn't even know that fat suits were even a thing but the entire narrative if Insatiable was literally what the logic of my eating disorder. With that knowledge and facing listened to this episode, I wonder how much fat suits affect people's self esteem because they ALWAYS look horrible like. I wonder what effect showing fat people are uglified thin people because I know as a fat person and as someone who spent a lot of time with anorexics that both groups are deeply afraid that that's how people see them.

fig leaf

Oh good Christ. I put off reading or knowing anything about The Whale because I wanted to enjoy Brendan Fraser having his renaissance, but I just finally read the Lindy West piece and... That's exactly my nightmare of what The Whale would be!

Heather Micheel

Re listening to this in the wake/coming fervor for The Whale

Kelly G

I remember seeing an interview of by Julia Roberts, where she talked about the fat suit. And I distinctly remember her talking about how long it took for them to put it on her. And as is usually the case the makeup artists told Julia she could nap if she wanted. Julia said there was no way she was going to 'fall asleep and wake up fat, every woman's nightmare '. I distinctly remember her saying that. It's burned into my brain. And distinctly reshaped how I saw my body and how other women saw their bodies.

Chantal Villeneuve

FRIENDS was on the air when I was a teen and it took me until I was 25 to realize I would not suddenly lose weight and become thin. It was a jarring experience. Fat Monica was a big reason for me feeling this way.

Katherine Zee

In a terrible twist, a critic mentioned Whoopi Goldberg's "distracting fat suit" in a review, and she was not, in fact, wearing a fat suit. https://ew.com/movies/whoopi-goldberg-reacts-till-movie-critic-review-not-fat-suit/

Allie L.

Also came here to ask about The Whale

B

Would be interested in your thoughts on Brendan Fraser’s use of a fat suit for the upcoming movie The Whale. He’s playing a 600 lb man but Brendan himself is over 300 lbs now having gained weight in recent years. I don’t think it would’ve been reasonable for him to gain an additional 300 lbs and I can imagine finding an actor weighing 600 lbs would also be difficult. Should the story just not be told?

Erika

I just rewatched the Impeachment season of ACS & one of the main things I kept thinking is sarah paulson just looks like a thin woman wearing baggy clothing what was the point?!?

Sydney Beal

I’m sorry if I’m being redundant but, I didn’t get to scroll through all of the messages. Friends episodes had a few times where they were dressed in fat suits.

Erica Van Deusen

Too bad this was recorded before fat Thor. I kind of want the hear you guys take on that.

Kris Olsen

I have to think it’s an issue of directors needing a fat body to tell the story but a thin body to *promote* the story. Like, maybe directors & studios would be fine casting a fat person for the film itself, but they won’t consider anyone other than a very thin person to do publicity photoshoots and walk red carpets and do interviews and wear couture gowns and wah wah wah. Obviously, you can’t have both, so…fatsuit.

Karen

I know I am late to the game, but can this be a t-shirt? #GwynethNo

Kait

I remember being semi fucked up by the ‘grand reveal’ photos of ‘brave’ (yes, I stand by all the inverted commas) Renee Zellwegger as Bridget Jones, after ‘piling on weight’ for the role… she had, what, maybe a bit of stomach fat?? As a kid I really panicked that her VERY NORMAL FIGURE was apparently fat. Still hate those stupid films.

Charlotte Keynes

What's interesting to me is when they put women who are already not thin in fat suits. Jill Scott in Why Did I Get Married comes to mind. And then when she leaves her douche canoe husband and finds someone who cares about her as she is, she then magically loses, like, 100 lbs in a few months.

Nichole Naprstek

On the mind-changing thing--I was raised semi-conservative Christian and so I was anti-gay marriage for a while. But in my early twenties, I started actually reading what gay people had to say about themselves and went "Oh." Then I did the same for trans people, and had a similar reaction. Then a year or two later I noticed all the stuff I'd been repressing and figured out I was bi. I used to ascribe my ability to change my mind on the topic to my mom to an extent because she worked in theatre and I remember her very clearly telling me that gay people were people and should be treated that way...but it turns out that she's still pretty homophobic and really transphobic. She ignores me being bi because I married a man (who goes by he/they pronouns and recently said that he thinks genderqueer or genderfluid suited him better but I'm not telling my mom that), ignores my youngest brother being gay because he's single, and lost it when she found out that my bisexual brother's spouse has changed their name, started using they/them pronouns, and is genderqueer. Apparently she can tolerate queerness in friends but not family.

Anna O.

First post I’ve commented on, but I love every single one! Thanks for making these episodes, Aubrey & Mike.

Alexis Rockley

That sounds like a problem of the industry’s hiring standards, not necessarily the problem of any individual. Why did people get so angry at Sarah Paulson for the poor hiring practices of the industry as a whole? This also doesn’t seem to add up when considering the people who get cast to play substance use disorder individuals who have no diagnosis or people who play a sexual identity that is different than their own private identity, etc. Maybe those groups have their own outrage that I am not privy to hear? Thank you very much for responding, I do appreciate the information and it gives me a better understanding of the issue!

Reid Dutchess

It's a problem of privilege. Do fat people get hired to play thin people roles? No. Fat people get hired to play almost no roles in Hollywood. The only ways a fat person can get paid as an actor are if they 1) get hired to play a role written for a fat person or 2) are in the extraordinarily small percentage of fat actors that gain enough name recognition to have roles written for them (and this happens most often for fat people with more privileges aka cis straight white men and basically never for fat people with a number of intersecting identities that have less privilege.) So while we are in a world where fat actors are not cast for 99% of roles, it becomes a problem when the 1% of roles specifically written for larger bodies go to thin people. It would be a totally different discussion if fat people were frequently cast for roles written with thin bodies in mind. As long as it's only going in one direction though (thin people take roles written for thin bodies and thin people can take roles written for larger bodies but fat people essentially only get cast in roles for larger bodies or, more frequently, not at all) it's going to be a problem worth getting upset over.

Biggerloofah

I don’t understand why this is such a bad thing. Actors and actresses play addicts/alcoholics despite not having a substance use disorder. They play homosexuals or heterosexuals even if that isn’t their sexual identity. Some people play different genders, a different ethnicity, and in some instances a different race, that is the talent of an actor/actress. They learn to emulate people that they aren’t. How did Mike and Aubrey not address any of this, but have such a problem with people playing roles of individuals who are physically larger than the actor/actress is. This kind of seems like unjustified rage, but if I am completely off on this, someone please tell me. I always thought the craft of acting was based on being someone you aren’t, so it seems wild for people to criticize them for playing roles of people they aren’t…or maybe I am completely wrong. I am willing to be educated if someone has any insight.

Reid Dutchess

I just discovered a show on the BBC called Secret Body, which I think needs to be shared here as the sort of bullshit someone in the UK thought was appropriate to make and release in 2019... "The world's first undercover weight loss show". Hosted by Stephen Clarke and Rab Shields, this show sees people undergo a body transformation over 12 weeks, while wearing a specially-designed 'fat suit' to hide their progress. WHY

Georgie Wishart

As a fat white woman, I was super conflicted when recently Viola Davis wore a fat suit for the film Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. It was an important story to tell, a story that is not mine to police in any way, but why did they have to take that important story and cheapen it with a fat suit? Viola Davis is clearly a phenomenal actress, to put it lightly, but surely there are other phenomenal fat actresses/singers with the actual body type being portrayed, who are missing out on the chance to represent people who actually look like they do. The film got so much praise, deservedly, but everyone seemed to ignore the fat suit issue entirely. I saw some quotes from Viola Davis about wearing the fat suit, and while they were better than how you usually hear actresses describe the experience, I still saw fat bodies being worn as a costume, and fat women missing out on roles -- especially roles where they are not the butt of the joke, but center stage.

Jessalyn Small

I came across this hideous article WHILE listening to this episode—DR. OZ IN A FAT SUIT. Holyyyy hell this guy is a shit sandwich, and the fat suit is the fakest thing. One more reason to hate this guy. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2550121/Dr-Oz-unrecognizable-fat-suit-ill-fitting-clothing-poses-400-pound-man.html

BC the Beatles

yeah thats it

girlboss of frogs

"Yell at a thin hot white woman today"

Liza

I think that ice cream pint thing was Ryan Gosling? He did it for some movie that he ended up getting fired from lol

Lily Moen

“Let the cancelling commence!!!”😂😂😂😂

amy hutchings

Sarah Paulson said "there is something in my being that makes me right to play this part". Yeah that "something in your being" is the fact that you're Sarah Paulson and this is a show run by Ryan Murphy, let's be honest.

Hope Moser

Hello fellow fan! You raise a very interesting point! It might be worth emailing them your question so they can address it. Personally, when I hear them refer to a person as “hot” I always assume they mean hot by societal standards, not in their personal preferences. I believe in one episode Mike refers to a Jake Gyllenhal (??) type body as attractive and A mentioned on the Shallow Hal bonus episode a previous girl friend who she described as fat or chubby (my apologies for not remembering) but beyond that I don’t believe they have spoken on the show about their personal ideas of attractive or “hot”. Again, you raise a great question and it would be worth hearing their clarification!

Katherine Gauer

Omg - I just started watching this show during covid hoping for some light entertainment and the whole Schmidt thing and fat hatred in that show is GROSS!

nancy guerrera

Honestly all I can think about is Jackass and other MTV shows with fat suits being the punchline. As someone who grew up watching these shows surrounded by teen boys who worshipped the casts of these shows... at best it was frustrating; but often it was traumatizing

Moira Gasior

Has anyone brought up the Greys Anatomy episode in season 6 about a fat patient and sensitivity training? Not just a terrible fat suit but this whole episode was basically a vehicle for fat jokes packaged as a 'very special episode' feeling vibes. It was awful.

Adele

Also, while I'm here, I work in technical theatre and a few years ago I worked on a play called "The Whale", which is about a 600-lb man reconnecting with his estranged daughter. When they first announced it, I thought they'd find an actor who was 350 or 400 lbs, but no, they cast a guy who was maybe 200. And then he showed up on the first day of rehearsal having been on hard-core Atkins and was down to maybe 160. I was livid. I have other stories from that show too.

Jeffery Rockey

The one that really got me was so-called "Fat Thor" from Avengers: Endgame. 1) He wasn't that fat! 2) He still had abs ON TOP OF HIS BELLY! What the heck was that?

Jeffery Rockey

Guys. The fucking hair in the image for this episode is the WILDEST part of the whole thing.

Erin Berg

I listened to this on a plane trip yesterday and today I find myself watching Hairspray (2007) for the first time and oh my goodness I just go to the part where John Travolta is revealed to be playing the protag's Mom *and* wearing a fat suit. Another potential future movie to discuss? Especially considering the premise too. Edit: I finally finished the movie and really would love to see you both discuss it in a future ep/bonus ep.

VauxiBox

My god, the multi-episode deep dive you two could do on Gwyneth and GOOP…would be a dream

Jennifer Boeder

She discussed this on the Podcast “Conan O’Brien needs a friend”. I turned it off…

jenchuckles

Does anyone remember Amy Sedaris writing about wearing a fat suit to make her dad upset? I vaguely remember a few anecdotes of hers about it.

Kate

I was recommended the book health at every size by Linda Bacon through an eating disorder support group. I’m reading it and I’ve been mad more than I’ve been helped. Could you guys please please please review it??

Laura

Deena, you should be able to copy the link into your podcast app and subscribe from there. I have pocketcasts, and use the search function to paste the link and then subscribe.

Donna

Deena, I subscribed to Maintain in the Membrane, which is the bonus episodes, and it works.

Kristina

Is there a way to listen to bonus episodes in our usual podcast players? I always forget about these

Deena

I love you guys.

Keira

YESSSSS THIS SHOW. So many mixed feelings. I told no one that I watched this show, but also binged it for the sake of giving them a nod like I HOPE THIS GETS BETTER!

WhyWhyWhy777

I remember a play opening in Chicago in 2012 or 2013 or so called "The Whale" (yes that was the title) that starred a lead actor in a fat suit. I immediately thought of it during this episode and googled it....it doesn't look like it has been produced a ton recently...then I realized it's being turned into a movie with Brendan Fraser. So. I'm at least curious to see how the discourse may have changed...there's already at least one article (where Aubrey's tweet is quoted, hi Aubrey!) about anti-fatness in the movie. I don't remember this being discussed in any of the (glowing) theatre reviews when it came to Chicago. Thanks for doing this podcast! It's such a delight.

Laura Nessler

Hi, thank you for your podcast! It is SO needed and I feel liberated when I listen to it. 💜☺️ I have a question- I have listened to every episode and I have heard y’all refer to thin people as “hot” a lot but I can’t remember you referring to a fat person as “hot” even once. Doesn’t this perpetuate f***** up beauty standards and fatphobia?

Andina Aste-Nieto

YES! Everything Goop is a gold mine.

bex

Possible idea for a future episode: I just got an email from Netflix about a new show called Sex Love & Goop. Apparently there's also a show on Netflix called The Goop Lab that I hadn't heard of before today either.

Becca M

I didn't read of all the comments here, but this episode had me instantly flash back the the very awful time on the Tyra Banks show where she put on a fat suit...

Ashley Day

I just saw that renee zelweger will be wearing a fat suit for one of her next projects, which I think is so interesting, given all the buzz there was about her gaining weight for bridget jones

Amanda Gibson

Yes! Also WALL-E. WTF?

Jackson

I just discovered Maintenance Phase last month. Then these bonus episodes. I've really enjoyed getting all caught up while I walk the dog. Now I only have one left and I'll have to wait for new content 😭

kristina willson

Yes! I wanted to ask the same question! I just read an article about her and the Remnant Fellowship - upsetting stuff!

Kathrine Dykes

Yes!!

Sarah Pickering

My Downcast podcast app has options for 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75, etc. speeds. Check your app for faster speed options!

Lauren

Is there a way to speed up the podcast? My ADHD brain likes to listen to these at 2x speed!

Candy Smith

Oh my gosh, Aubrey and Micheal, have y’all heard about Gwen Shamblin?

Audrey Turner

Idk where episode topic requests happen, but there is a treasure trove of Canadian weight loss shows that were basically forced family viewing in my home. The 2 biggest were Xweighted and Last 10 Pounds. LOTS of weigh ins in front of family and friends, LOTS of starting out episodes with the subject binging on food and also last 10 pounds had a “this is what youlll look like in 5 years if you don’t change” camera. It was also for people who just needed to lose 10 pounds so it was literally picking apart size 6s (that’s where I learned that 6 was an unacceptable size). It also was only in a MONTH They are a treasure trove of terribleness and in the case of XWeighted the worst ‘Canadian’ accent on the host who’s a fuckin’ creep

Riley MacKinnon

Absolutely in my top 3 favorite podcasts. Love you guys, and not just because I have a major crush on Aubrey.

nico

Can we talk about Shrek in this context? That movie bugged me so hard.

Deirdre Chadwick

Would pay money for a text tone that is just the third “uh-huh” from Aubrey as Mike is explaining something historically awful. Just for when my ex texts.

Nicole F.

*historic (sry for my agressive Hungarian autocorrect)

Vera Horvath

Re: Rachel Hollis episodes: I suspect she says she is from the South because she doesn't know the difference between the geographic and história "Souths"

Vera Horvath

I vividly remember scenes of Kaley Cuoco (spelling?) in a TV movie where she wore a fat suit to write about the challenges of fat people! I totally forget what channel it was on but it was very mid-2000s.

Taylor Warren

Once when I was on my way to work, a researcher from the show stopped me outside the train station and asked me if I wanted to take part. I’m neither supersize nor super skinny (in the parlance of the show) so I'm not sure why I was being approached but it bothered the FUCK out of me that they were just going up to people in the street to try to get them to participate!

Roisin Muldoon

Does anyone else have vague memories of an MTV show (I think) where a thin teenage girl would have to wear a fat suit to learn about the challenges of fat people? Am I delusional in recalling that this existed in the early 2000s? I seem to remember seeing one episode and being sort of appalled, even as a teenager, but I can't remember the name of the show or if it really existed. This episode made me think of it.

Rachel Cohen

I just saw a headline about yet another, Rene Zwellweger, sigh.

Cynthia Quade

If you do a Google images search for “Julia Roberts fat suit” there are some stills from America’s sweethearts. 💖 thanks as always for your episodes!

Karen Merzenich

A great episode! I would be super interested in exploring the "previously fat" trope in sitcoms (Monica in Friends, Schmidt in New Girl, Terry in Brooklyn 99). I love sitcoms but hate this trope that lets them have all the fat "jokes" and zero actual fat representation.

Sarah Hook-Rogers

"I always love it when people pull this move, 'You say it’s wrong to judge people on their looks, and yet you’re judging me by my words and behaviors.'" Never a truer statement said. I want this on a pillow. XD

Robin King

Aubrey Gordon says "in a sweatshirt with stains on it." I look down at my sweatshirt with stains on it.

bluejean101

omg same. I love the maintenance phase music

Amanda Gibson

Another fat suit: Schmidt in New Girl. I love New Girl but it's gross how Schmidt's weight in college is used as evidence of him having no game, him being a loser, etc.

Hayley Helm

I just wish Sarah Paulson wouldn’t just mindlessly star in everything that she produces with her pal, non-inclusive Ryan Murphy smh.

Marta Szymańska

I love your bonus episodes ❤️ I would also be interested in hearing you both debunk the paleo diet!

Halle Kevern

If I remember, melting the ice cream and drinking it was what Benecio Del Toro did for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. That weird anecdote has always stuck with me, wishing that as a fat person it were just so easy to drink ice cream for three months and then just get that Benecio Del Toro body right back.

Sean Lane

Yes!!! That section made me cringe. A fat black woman esp a dark skin one is seen as super unattractive and asexual and lazy etc. so highlighting how much work she did was UGH. Also a klan member no longer being a klan member is not inspiring AT ALL. It’s like basic humanity. It’s a great episode but it was such a white moment that I was like y’all need to not speak on certain intersections if you don’t have the range or realization of your bias

Megan

This is the one I want to hear too

Amy Harth

This is me!!!!!!. My boobs are so big my belly is smaller..is the f***ed up way I think about my body. And a breast reduction would help with bain and neck pain! Also clothes don't fit. Like an episode on clothing. I'm in Canada so more limited then the US for larger sizes and they're all made for tall women... I'm 5"1 with boobs, belly and no butt....nothing fits my shape.

Francine

YES ugh

Emily

Ugh… Fraser the season the actress playing Daphne became pregnant and ,instead of going with it, they put her in a fat suit and did an entire season of horrible fat jokes.

Marian Visser

Ok so I know it was a bit tongue in cheek but Mike's intro is actually the first time I've ever heard someone say they like me exactly as I am and I had to pause it and have little cry. Thankyou both for the effort you put into this podcast, it just means so much.

Melanie Broder

Well, I became a Patreon supporter because I wanted these bonus episodes and now I’ve burned through them all in about three days. Excellent and hilarious and smart. Thank you!! #worthit

Jacqueline Donkersloot

How about Jane Lynch on Mrs Maisel and that fat suit? Why? Anyway you guys are the absolute best and I love you so much!

Amanda Louden

loved this! i think it would be interesting if you did an episode about that ep in the office where michael scott does 'fat sensitivity training' (in a fatsuit) and maybe also the season opening where all the offices are competing to lose the most weight? it is that early 2000s thing where they think they are doing /something/ but it is just bad and has aged poorly

Amanda Borg

Re: America’s Sweethearts (NOT A CORRECTION) I was so glad you talked about that terrible movie which of course I watched as a teenager obsessed with John Cusack. Literally the only thing I remember about it is that Julia Roberts says she lost 60lbs and I remember doing the math and realizing that the “fat, undesirable” version of her was definitely smaller than me, and feeling fucking terrible about myself. My other recollection is that the fat suit isn’t featured throughout the movie, it’s like a big moment flashback near the end where you finally see her look like… a perfectly average sized, small fat person. It sucks, thank you for bringing up this piece of shit that I would otherwise think I just hallucinated.

Sophie

I think you all could do a full episode just on Eddie Murphy projects (Nutty Professor, Norbit, etc.). Also I recall hearing that Emma Thompson wore a fat suit in Love Actually, though I really didn't notice until someone pointed it out.

Oddity

I LOVED this episode, I think it was one of your best ones yet. The parallels to the gay rights movement are very powerful and compelling. I think the messages you share here are too good to keep them behind a paywall! I'd recommend sharing out to your regular podcast feed to spread the message as far as you can!

Christina Johnson

It is insane after listening to this great episode i turn around and they’re doing THE SAME thing with the stagecoach Mary movie casting someone whom does not fit the bigger dark skin build of Mary.

ScorpioSG 4

Also will allllways be yelling about Shallow Hal. Stoked for this chat

Postapocjen

I would like their thoughts on the Thor fat suit I’m Endgame. I was really bothered by the fact that all of the jokes around him were about being fat.

Alexandria McCaskill

Ten years ago I was on OkCupid (a dating site before Tinder, does it still exist? don’t care enough to check) and I had some cute profile pics that mostly focused on my face, though I’m sure I had at least one full body pic as well because I liked the way I looked. I wore a 32G bra at that point and I have always carried some weight around my middle, but my face looked very thin. I went on a date with a dude who I’d been exchanging really witty and interesting messages with, but in person didn’t really like that much, and we agreed a second date wasn’t necessary. A few months later, he messaged me to ask if I had been wearing a fat suit as a kind of social experiment, because he had been so surprised to see me in person. He informed me that he just wasn’t attracted to my body type but was sure that other people would be. I wore a size 4 at the time.

Jessica Parker

I could not stop thinking about that Tyra show through this whole episode. It was so awful.

Andi Grimes

I think its also important, just as a side note, to recognize that there are imo very different stereotypes for white fat women compared to black fat women. I feel like, fat black women are often expected to be strong, hard working and “badass”, which is different than the stereotypes we have of fat white women, but equally apalling and destructive.

Little Anina

I just watched American Sweethearts and got to the fat suit part ….ummm fat suit?? Normal sized woman suit more like 😳

Megan Fraser

I can't remember the book but my favourite depiction of a fat suit just involved a thin woman wearing one to professionally shop lift and taking advantage of all the reactions to her size to get away with it. Another great episode, thank you. I'm particularly now thinking about what works in activism and what difficult choices there are in messages.

Cate Kneale

I am not aware of this - I know the book and movie but haven't read/seen either.....I'm off to check this out. Thank you

lone_alien

I would love it if you covered the movie “Thinner” and Stephen King’s rather peculiar commitment to fat phobia…

Lisa Dailey

YEESS! I love it when a bonus episode comes out! Love you guys :D great episode.

still sleeping

I could listen to you amazing people everyday. Thanks so much for this bonus episode!

Laura

Can’t explain how excited I was for the episode Tuesday and now this. You guys feed my soul 😪❤️

Ellie Lipson

Having watched America's Sweethearts when it came out I can confirm that not watching is the right choice. It's exactly what you think it is. I really appreciate Aubrey's take on the Sarah Paulson thing; it feels icky to have to be satisfied with the wishy-washy answer but if it leads to straight-sized people being less shitty in the long run and someday fat people getting the dignity we are denied now, I can appreciate that. Though it just adds to my preference to avoid people who fit the defaults; they take too much work, I'll stick with fellow misfits.

Sara Ezzat

I always loved that Sookie on Gilmore Girls was just Sookie (Miss Patty too); she was never on a diet, she had romance and got married... But - and it was a major issue for me, especially in the reboot - the show had no problem having Lorelei and Rory (and others) make fat jokes about other people, which sadly, is a real thing that happens with people who are thin even though they have fat friends. It never occurs to them not to make jokes about other fat people without wondering how their friend who is fat might interpret that.

Kim Niemi

A bit off topic, but if y’all released the maintenance phase theme song as a 20 minute loop track that I can put on to meditate too, I would really appreciate it. That music has a Pavlovian effect on me, it’s so relaxing.

Alex

FACT CHECK HERE: It was Ryan Gosling who drank hagendaas ice cream to put on weight for a role in The Lovely Bones! The director said he had NOT asked gosling to do that and so he lost the role!

Mindi Suter

what???? She was a child that's horrible

Veronica T

I really liked the way Insatiable handled her weight loss and the emotional fall out with not really feeling connected in your body even after you lose weight. People are always telling fat people to lose weight and then they'll just be so happy. It's incredibly not true and Insatiable did a good job showing why

Brittany

Hard agree, I was so disappointed. I did like that he didn't magically lose weight for the final battle but it was small comfort

Sara Amorosi

What are your opinions on the Thor fat suit in Avengers: End Game? Cuz when I saw it in theatres for the first time, I didn't know whether to groan or gag. On one hand, it's the first time I'd seen a fat suit in a 'shirtless' scene, but on the other it still just didn't look right at all. Too stiff, too flatly colored, too smooth, and the random fingerless gloves to hide the wrist edges are super out of place. Plus, Chris still looked 'pillowy' rather than 'weighty' when there was a hoodie on top. The context of Thor's weight gain was also just in really poor taste, as it was generally played for laughs and seen as pitiable by the other characters, rather than a symptom of a deeper issue (and one that isn't uncommon in real life for those also affected by trauma/mental illness).

Kayn Lawson

I was going to suggest Monica too! I just watched an episode with Monica in a fat suit for the first time as an adult, and her body is actually only maybe a size 18/20? But the fat jokes are relentless and her facial prosthetics look like they belong to a totally different body. So on the one hand it's very poorly done and a lot of the writing is straight up mean, but then in the episode -- the "what if our lives had gone differently?" episode in season 6 where of course the only major change for Monica is "stayed fat" -- she still has her career and Chandler still falls in love with her... almost like in spite of itself the episode shows her having a normal life, with the only difference being that her friends are assholes to her.

Laura Colleluori

As an activist, I absolutely loved your nuanced chat about activist acceptance of mediocre privilege introspection, or "liberalism" as I call it.

Sam Murphy

I really relate to the discussion about fat on certain parts of the body being “acceptable” (boobs, butt, etc) and other parts being treated as a double crime. I’ve been told over and over that I’m lucky because I’m fat but I have giant boobs. But I’ve put off getting a breast reduction, which would seriously help with pain and breathing issues, because I’m so afraid of being fat without giant boobs. Even as young as 6, my mom told me that the only way she “got a husband” and had me was because her fat was in the “right” places.

Liza

The comment about how they never show a fat woman in a tailored suit reminds me so much of the show Drop Dead Diva. You guys should totally do an episode on that show.

CJ

Thank you for the great episode guys♥️

Lillie

Aubrey watched and wrote about it! https://gen.medium.com/brittany-runs-a-marathon-and-thin-fantasies-of-fat-lives-f0496408a2aa

maintenancephase

Googled Julia Roberts images from American Sweethearts. She looks like an regular ass American woman and we're supposed to be horrified at how hideous and unlovable she is at like, a size 10? LOL

Shanna Vaughn

Hi. Can someone (y’all) please tell me (us) why and how My 600 Lb. Life exists.

Erin Delaney

Okay. Now I really hate Julia Roberts. I'm thinking accessory to murder?https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2556109/amp/Julia-Roberts-half-sister-Nancy-Motes-37-dies-apparent-drug-overdose-one-year-getting-gastric-bypass-surgery.html

dianne budd

Would love to hear your thoughts on “Brittany Runs a Marathon” (that’s a movie that recently came out and weight is a central theme)

Elizabeth

Great episode, as usual! I remember seeing Julia Roberts on Oprah back when America's Sweethearts came out. Trying to remember exactly what she said, but apparently while they were putting on all that makeup on her face, they suggested she could doze off. Her response was that if she went to sleep and woke up fat, she'd never sleep again. Decades later, and I still remember her saying that...internalized fat phobia, indeed.

Christine Amsden

I tried B99 because everyone loved it, and I really enjoyed the first three episodes. And then I stopped watching it forever after the fourth episode where, although the ultimate point was that Jake missed that there was a murder because he assumed the dead guy died for reasons related to his being fat, the whole episode was filled with fat jokes and stereotypes about fat people. I told a friend who loves B99 that, and she thought about it for a minute and then said, "You know, there's about one episode every season where they make fat jokes. I wonder if it's just one person in the writers' room who pushes for it." Glad to hear I'm not the only person who has issues with it because of the way it deals with weight. (A fat joke is also why I stopped watching How I Met Your Mother forever. I literally said out loud, "Fat jokes aren't funny," and turned off the TV.)

Ruth Alderson

Mike that "judging me on my words and behaviors" bit needs to be the new merch

Megan Hazzard

They were criticizing the actress wearing a fat suit and the story supposedly being about fat shaming. Satire condemns and that show was not condemning fat suits.

Aliyah

Yes, we watched that in health class. Lord

Aliyah

I would like to present the tv movie “to be fat like me” with Kaley Cuoco. From what I recall the intent was to actually show the ridicule fat people receive, but Kaleys fat suit is ridiculous. Also an episode of the Tyra show where they have an actual fat woman put on pieces of silicone to make it look like she’s in a fat suit, and then she shows people a picture of a thin woman and tells them that’s actually her, with I guess the expectation of them to tell say thank god you look better thin??

Dana

Oh my god what? Seriously? I didn't know she said that

Aliyah

Tyra and her "expose" from her talk show about life as a fat person is truly something to behold. This news article alone should clue you in on how ridiculous this was -- https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/BeautySecrets/story?id=1280787

Ryan Atkins

Wow this was great to listen to! I’m going to be thinking for a WHILE about Aubrey’s insights about what kinds of statements & actions actually change people’s minds. Regarding fat suits in ‘90s & ‘00s movies, one thing that’s burned into my brain is a Bitch magazine cover with a caption that read something like “FAT SUITS: THE NEW BLACKFACE.” Intersectionality who? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Nell

Me too!

AD

Fat suit discussions always remind of a TV special I saw I think when I was a teenager. UK soap star Natalie Cassidy was on a soap from a very young age and unfortunately was the focus of a lot of fat mockery. After leaving the soap she lost weight and did an exercise video etc. She was then invited on a show where she discussed the difference in the way she is treated thin versus when she was fat, but for some reason to do this they had her put on a fat suit to take her back to her old size and then see how her experience was. She discussed the negative aspects of it and how she was glad not to be fat. Of course her weight has then fluctuated over the last 15 years or so. I unfortunately have not been able to find it online, but it comes back to me now and then and I honestly cannot think what they thought they were going to achieve by doing the exercise of using a fat suit rather than discussing the actual differences in her experience as a fat and a thin person.

Garak's Litigious Needle

Would you ever do an episode about B99, particularly Terry Crews’ fat suit episode(s)?

LB Fliegel

A recent fat suit that I often think of is John Lithgow playing Roger Ailes in Bombshell. His interviews about wearing it really highlighted how fat suits are never just about “looking like the person/character” but are tied up in how people think about the person/character. The way Lithgow talks about wanting to look a certain way in relation to the “evil” of Ailes as a person is horrible and feels similar to how people will mock the bodies/appearance of those they see as morally/politically bad, rather than focus on the moral/political issues.

Kelly

Same. I'm with Aubrey on this.

Shanda Wells

This was unexpectedly really moving - and it was interesting to see Michael obviously seeing the issues, but still up for laughing at it, and Aubrey being, whilst hilarious as ever, close to tears and having to spell out how very deeply she is affected by this issue.

Garak's Litigious Needle

i mean, no props for hiring mark wahlberg but yeah

Lauren Seals

You two. ❤️

Mother

So excited to listen, but seeing that comment about bravely gaining weight for a role made me wonder if you're going to address the stuff about Rebel Wilson gaining weight because she thought it would get her more work.

Zardogs! Zardogs!

The thing that infuriated me most about insatiable was Debby Ryan saying she listened to the She’s All Fat pod to ~~get inspired~~. How DISRESPECTFUL!

Alexandra Beckley

Tangentially related while on the topic of Gwyneth: my personal MCU head canon is that Pepper Potts, woman in STEM, would be anti-goop. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk

Dibs

Aubrey talking about how frustrating it is to have people change their minds and never admit to their earlier beliefs is a MOOD! Someone in my family does this and I constantly feel like I am being gaslit. Normalize representing your own story truthfully, dammit! Also, Mike & Aubrey are right that we're just going to have to put up with it when people do. Being gracious in victory is a good thing, I guess, but I think our culture loses a lot because we then forget change happened when everyone is busily brushing the traces of their path smooth behind them.

Erica Palmisano

I'd like to think that she'd recognize the racism in claims that someone was "only hired for being Black," but...maybe not? Maybe she has some unexamined racism, and that's why she had a racist cliché all ready to repurpose as a defense of her fatphobia.

Alison Johnson

There is never just one actor who is best for a role, just as there is never just one person who is best for a job. Fat people can be great actors, and saying that a fat actor would "obviously" be cast only for their body shape and not for their talent shows really deep, possibly unexamined prejudice against fat people.

Alison Johnson

That Sarah Paulson quote straight up plagiarizes racist rants about "diversity hires"!

Alison Johnson

Yayy! I'm so excited ("excited"?) for this ep! I'm not sure if it's bonus episode, or episode-episode material, but I'd be really interested in one on the documentary "Supersize Me" (2004, Morgan Spurlock) - this gets, like, taught in schools as "new muckraking" that helped push the fast food industry to include calories on menus, offer apple slices with Happy Meals, etc. Was it really that influential?

A.B.

I wish you hadn’t trashed ‘Insatiable’ without even watching it. It was meant as a satire, dark comedy, cheesy pulp.

Carrie

Can you talk a little bit more about people recovering from ED as an entry point to fat activism?

Katie Best

I'd love to know your views on the UK show, supersize vs. superskinny. It's not on TV anymore, but you can finde episodes on Youtube - it's addicting!

Jmiz09

Oooo! Or those "slim patches" that you slap on your belly to make it magically disappear. *insert Liz Lemon eye roll*

Hannah Loss

Also would looove an episode on the HCG diet. My mom had me do it with her in high school 😳 wild experience that is for sure

riley

Can never get enough of this pod!!! Thanks for another episode😍😍😍

riley

I was instantly reminded of Abigail Breslin wearing a fat suit for Little Miss Sunshine, and JFC she was just a kid / who thought that was a good idea / why can’t people just exist in their own bodies?!

Chrissy Friedlander

love this episode!!! btw, it was ryan gosling who drank the melted ice cream to play the dad in “The Lovely Bones” and he showed up to set the first day of filming and Peter Jackson immediately fired Ryan Gosling and hired Mark Wahlberg instead

Taylor

Really? Years (decades to be honest) ago, my mom remarked on the number of women she knew who had done Nutrisystem and later had their gallbladders removed.

Rebecca

The first image that popped into my head was Tyra in that fat suit.

Lars von Trash

Ahhhh so happy to hear your voices

Overlyexpensivetextbook

do y'all have plans to do an episode on nutrisystem? I did that with my mom when I was about 7 and I just read in Aubrey's book that it was sued for causing gall bladder issues and I need to know more!

Orion Spencer

Huzzah!! Cheering up development of training on IRS policies 😆

Miranda Whalen

Are you guys going to talk about Friends? Monica and Joey both wear fat suits in the series and good lord the fat jokes throughout are awful.

Joanne BooksCatsAndTats

eeeeeeeeeeee so excited for this!!!!

Marissa Collins