Isnt It Romantic Rebel Wilson

Ahhhh… Rebel Wilson. A plus size celebrity that has been making a name for herself both as an actress and a Curvy Fashionista. But, yesterday, when appearing on the Ellen Show to promote her movie, “Isn’t It Romantic,” Rebel Wilson made a claim that has quite a few of rightfully so, confused, upset, and disappointed.

Fast Forward to the last minute to catch it…

When called out about her claim on Twitter by @halfapintdoll, Rebel Wilson not only dug a hole for herself, but ineffectively tried to erase the many plus size actresses and comedians who came before her. Who paved the road for her to have the platform she has today.

This is where is gets disappointing…

I love @RebelWilson as much as the next girl, but she isn’t the first plus sized woman to play the lead in a romantic comedy. Queen Latifah and Mo’Nique have both played romcom leads ? https://t.co/l2uEpwvcsF

To which Rebel Replied:

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. So there’s a slight grey area

Umm… What “grey area” Rebel?

Queen Latifah and Monique are and were both plus size women in their comedies, that were categorized in the Romantic Comedy section… soooooo, what do you mean?

Stephanie of @nerdabouttown challenges this grey area, too…

Why is it a grey area when black, fat actresses are brought up btw? I don’t think you realise how that sounds. It’s almost as if you’re saying because white people didn’t watch their movies, it doesn’t make their movies valid as ‘studio’ movies.

But then Twitter had more questions and came with their own receipts…

Not much grey area. pic.twitter.com/GtAz5a8t8D

“technically” Queen Latifah was nominated for not one but two Teen Choice Awards for Actress in a Romantic Comedy (one as lead actress and one in an ensemble cast) pic.twitter.com/iK8rRBNFiX

There are many other tweets to read, just follow the threads above.

So where does this leave us, Rebel?

just wrightQueen Latifah, Mo’Nique, Nikki Blonsky, Ricki Lake… these women have paved the road for you to have the platform you have today. Not counting the many sitcoms, Netflix movies, and all in between, including an indie movie, whose premise bore a familiar story line, it is 2018, Rebel.

 

While there are many firsts to be had, this is not one of them, especially in this space. There has been a lot of work, plus size trailblazers, plus size fashion leaders, plus size designers (who doooo exist), and community leaders who have put in the work, laid the foundation, and literally set the stage for you to be here.

This commentary and defense of standing by with your comment is quite unfortunate and an affront to the community that you say your movie captures…


So, what do we do now, Rebel? After the barrage of tweets asking you to reconsider, rethink, and reevaluate this claim, you “fully take all the comments onboard though so thank you.”

What does this mean Rebel Wilson?

We want to root for you, we do. You are a plus size woman taking up space in a place that we rarely see, so it is important that you also listen to the community who is rooting for you.

On the heels on your Dia & Co launch (who knew?), the upcoming shoe collection you have, and the various projects we know that will come from you, we want to love and support you, girl.

But not at the expense of our plus size actresses who came before you… becuase left like this? Is not a good look at all and leaves us feeling some kind of way.

I just feel like her tweet pretty much summed up the state of body positivity and the plus size community in one, you know? This constant erasure of black women needs to stop. Stephanie Yeboah

Rebel, I hope you take this with love, because this response? Ain’t it…

 

Fello TCF readers, what are YOUR thoughts? Let’s discuss…

Marie Denee is a digital marketing strategist, media aficionado, and plus size fashion pioneer. Known as the “walking wiki of plus-size fashion,” Marie has spent over two decades empowering women to celebrate their curves while reshaping the paradigm of fashion norms.
In 2008, she launched The Curvy Fashionista, a leading plus-size digital media platform, in response to systemic issues within plus-size fashion, including poor merchandising, back-of-store placement, and a lack of size-inclusive design expertise. As Editor-in-Chief, Marie and her team curate plus size wardrobe and style options from top fashion brands, deliver inclusive news content, and host community-centered events virtually and in person.

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4 Comments

  1. As a fellow Australian, I’m not here to excuse her behavior, seriously a little research wouldn’t have killed her, but to explain that if you thought coverage of movies aimed at African Americans was thin in the ground in the USA it is non existent in other countries. Neither of the actresses you mentioned where even on my radar until I moved to the USA,

    Reply

    1. Ahhhh, no love. Queen Latifah actually won awards for her movie and when Rebel said this comment, she was NOT is Australia… she was in the States when she said this on daytime TV. No passes there and even when she was called out on it, she did not apologize, she tried to explain it away, so no… this could not have worked either. But also, it is not as non-existent in other countries as one may think. It may not have been on your radar, but it does not make it non existent.

      Reply

      1. I believe the comment before me she is trying to say that the movies of queen latifah are not much know in australia or other countries. In my part she just said it wrong she should just said first white Australian cause if im right in other countries being bigger is a bad thing

        Reply

  2. They use us to get what/where they want then try to erase us once they are in a stable place. History has proven it. Freedom, civil rights, women’s rights, etc. What makes any other platform different? Sista’s been curvy and loved. Full lips, thick thighs, round booties etc. The things people get implanted to duplicate. Europeans glorified skinny, malnourished looks as beauty and recruited the world through their media display. Many other cultures viewed larger women as beautiful and rich. If she was larger it meant she had the means to eat. If she had wide hips and a thick butt the better chance of his seed surviving. “She” just wanted to be loved too so she started a movement and recruited sista’s. We already had it they’re just taking a piggy back ride and trying to dictate the path.

    Reply

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