The Australian comedian caused an outcry following her controversial comments on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show.'
Rebel Wilson has apologized for claiming to be the “first ever” plus-size woman to lead a romantic comedy.
The Australian actress received backlash after appearing on an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week, during which she said she was "proud to be the first-ever plus-sized girl to be the star of a romantic comedy."
"In a couple of well-intentioned moments, hoping to lift my fellow plus sized women up, I neglected to show the proper respect to those who climbed this mountain before me like Mo'Nique, Queen Latifah, Melissa McCarthy, Ricki Lake and likely many others,” Wilson tweeted on Monday. “With the help of some very compassionate and well-thought out responses from others on social media, I now realize what I said was not only wrong but also incredibly hurtful.”
“To be part of a problem I was hoping I was helping makes it that much more embarrassing & hard to acknowledge,” the Isn't It Romantic star continued. “I blocked people on Twitter because I was hurting from the criticism, but those are the people I actually need to hear from more, not less. Again, I am deeply sorry.”
Wilson’s comments on the talk show attracted widespread criticism, with social media users pointing out that actresses like Queen Latifah and Mo’Nique had previously played lead characters in rom-coms. The Pitch Perfect star’s response to such comments only ignited further backlash.
“Hey girl! Yeah I of course know of these movies but it was questionable as to whether: 1. Technically those actresses were plus size when filming those movies or 2. Technically those films are catorgorized/billed as a studio rom-com with a sole lead,” Wilson replied. “So there’s a slight grey area.”
Mo’Nique responded to Wilson's tweet with, “Hey my sweet sister. Let’s please not allow this business to erase our talent with giving grey areas and technicalities. Take a moment and know the history. DON’T BE A PART OF ERASING IT. I wish you the best.”
Wilson then explained that it was never her intention to “erase” anyone’s achievement, however, after contemplating the drama she posted her apology on Monday.
See more on Wilson below.
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