The 'Pitch Perfect' star admits she's embarrassed at herself after not acknowledging other plus-size actresses like Mo'Nique, Queen Latifah and Melissa McCarthy as the leads of romantic comedy movies.
- November 6, 2018
AceShowbiz - Rebel Wilson regrets claiming to be the first-ever plus size lead of a romantic comedy. After initially defending her statement, the Australian star realizes she has offended her fellow actresses with the comments after Mo'Nique took to Twitter to remind Rebel about her and other plus-size actresses' contributions to the industry.
"Hey my sweet sister. Let's please not allow this business to erase our talent with giving grey areas and technicalities," Mo'Nique tweeted in response to one of Rebel's posts. "Take a moment and know the history. DON'T BE A PART OF ERASING IT. I wish you the best."
Reading this, Rebel quickly backtracked on her initial comments. "Hi Monique, it was never my intention to erase anyone else's achievements and I adore you and Queen Latifah so so much x I support all plus size ladies and everything positive we are doing together," she replied.
Hi Monique, it was never my intention to erase anyone else’s achievements and I adore you and Queen Latifah so so much x I support all plus size ladies and everything positive we are doing together â¤ï¸
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) November 3, 2018
The 38-year-old star added in follow-up tweets, "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."
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.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) November 5, 2018
She added, "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. 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."
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-
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) November 5, 2018
acknowledge. 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.
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) November 5, 2018
Rebel made the controversial comment when she appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to promote her new film "Isn't It Romantic", where she stars opposite Liam Hemsworth. "I'm proud to be the first-ever plus-sized girl to be the star of a romantic comedy," she declared.
A Twitter user disagreed with her, writing, "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."
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
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) November 1, 2018
But the "Pitch Perfect" star initially didn't acknowledge those stars as the leads of rom-com movies. She 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."
