Allison Tolman calls for writers to stop making jokes about weight in scripts: 'I promise they aren't funny'
Allison Tolman is urging Hollywood to do better when it comes to jokes about weight.
The Fargo and Why Women Kill star took to Twitter on Tuesday to call on writers and showrunners to stop using the jokes in scripts altogether, writing, "Writers and showrunners- take the jokes about weight out of your scripts. I promise they aren't funny. And even if they were, they won't hold up well. And even if they did, they're unkind-either to your characters and actors or someone in your audience or crew. It's not worth it."
According to Tolman, examples of things that need to be excluded include mentions of "the numbers on a scale, what someone eats, what size their clothing is, exercise and movement." She also suggests "removing body descriptors from your scripts altogether, including character descriptions and the names of minor roles."
She explains: "I'm not saying you shouldn't use adjectives. But please don't say 'Linda- the main character's cousin, thin and witty' unless there's an actual reason Linda needs to be thin. And please don't say 'Fat Lady In Theater' when you mean 'Annoying Lady In Theater.' "
See the full thread below.
Writers and showrunners- take the jokes about weight out of your scripts. I promise they aren’t funny. And even if they were, they won’t hold up well. And even if they did, they’re unkind-either to your characters and actors or someone in your audience or crew. It’s not worth it.
— Allison Tolman (@Allison_Tolman) January 18, 2022
EW has reached out to Tolman's rep for further comment. Her remarks come on the heels of Yellowjackets star Melanie Lynskey's recent revelation in a Rolling Stone interview that a member of that show's production body-shamed her on set. "They were asking me, 'What do you plan to do? I'm sure the producers will get you a trainer. They'd love to help you with this,' " Lynskey recalled in the story.
"It was really important to me for [Lynskey's character, Shauna] to not ever comment on my body, to not have me putting a dress on and being like, 'I wish I looked a bit better,' " the actress also said. "I did find it important that this character is just comfortable and sexual and not thinking or talking about it, because I want women to be able to watch it and be like, 'Wow, she looks like me and nobody's saying she's the fat one.' That representation is important."
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