October 4, Los Angeles: Whoopi Goldberg, star of the upcoming Emmett Till biopic, has addressed rumors that she wore a fat suit in order to portray Till. Goldberg has urged the public not to judge others based on their appearance.
The 66-year-old actress plays Alma Carthan, mother of Mamie and grandmother of Emmett. Mirror.co.uk states that the film is based on the true story of Mamie Till Mobley, who fights for her 14-year-old son Emmett’s right to justice.
While staying with his Mississippi cousins in 1955, Emmett was brutally murdered by a mob of angry mobster-types.
In her Friday review for The Daily Beast, Kyndall Cunningham called the acclaimed actress’s “distracting fat suit” in the film.
Goldberg confronted the author, claiming that she “doesn’t really care” about the review.
“A reviewer for one of the magazines mentioned that I distracted her with my fat suit.
“I just want to say this, I don’t really care how you felt about the movie, but you should know that was not a fat suit, that was me,” she said on Monday’s episode of The View.
She continued, “I assume you don’t watch the show, or you’d know that was not a fat suit.”
It’s “Okay to not be a fan of the movie,” she said, but critics shouldn’t be criticized for how they look.
The actress from “Sister Act” elaborated: “Just make acting-related comments and direct any questions to the cast. I’m positive that you weren’t intending any kind of insult.”
Whoopi’s fellow panelist, Sunny Hostin, expressed shock at the fat suit remark and brought up the fact that Whoopi has been transparent about the “health challenges” she has faced.
Upon hearing this, the actress remarked “We’ll have to hope she was genuinely unaware and learn from this that in the future when discussing a person, it’s best to refer to them in the third person and treat them like an actor.
“Don’t make sweeping statements if you can’t be sure it’s them in there,” he advised. “It won’t make you look like a pro.”
According to a new editor’s note in the Daily Beast review, “This story has been updated to reflect that Whoopi Goldberg says she was not wearing a fat suit.”