Whoopi Goldberg Responded To A Movie Critic Who Said Her “Till” Fat Suit Was “Distracting” By Clarifying That She Wasn’t Wearing One

October 4, 2022 / Posted by:

These days, it seems like Whoopi Goldberg’s full job description at The View consists of saying something truly ignorant (like this) or saying something true, but considered mildly contentious (re: Lindsey Graham), and then having to backpedal or explain herself; keeping people guessing about whether or not she actually just farted on air; OR having to stay cool, calm, and collected while addressing people’s blunt critiques and questions about her physical appearance. First, there was that time when Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran basically called her a fat ass right to her face on the show. Then, Whoopi explained to the panel why she doesn’t rock eyebrows. And now, Whoopi had to clear up a comment by a movie reviewer that her “fat suit” was “distracting” even though she wasn’t wearing one in the new movie Till, which she appears in and produced.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Whoopi and the ladies took a break from their normal nonsense to discuss the importance of a film like Till, since the racial hatred behind the tragic lynching of Emmett Till 67 years ago is still alive and well in 2022. Whoopi then segued into clearing up a comment by a movie critic who couldn’t get past her weight in the film.

The Oscar-winning actress addressed a movie review of director Chinonye Chukwu’s new project, Till — in which she appears as Alma Carthan, the titular subject’s grandmother — after a critic wrote about her “distracting fat suit” following the film’s New York Film Festival premiere.

“There was a young lady who writes for one of the magazines, and she was distracted by my fat suit, in her review,” Goldberg said at the top of Monday’s episode of The View, seemingly referencing a line that EW can confirm has been deleted from The Daily Beast’s review of the film.

“I don’t really care how you felt about the movie, but you should know that was not a fat suit, that was me…. I assume you don’t watch the show, or you would know that was not a fat suit.”

The article was eventually updated to reflect that Whoopi said she wasn’t pulling a Gwyneth Paltrow in Shallow Hal, but the author has not responded to requests for comment.

An editor’s note in the story indicated that the review “has been updated to reflect that Whoopi Goldberg says she was not wearing a fat suit.” EW has reached out to the critic for comment.

The rest of Monday’s panel–which consisted of Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, and Alyssa Farah Griffin–expressed shock at the critic’s comment, with Sunny bringing up Whoopi’s recent health struggles that may have led to her changed body.

Goldberg’s fellow View panelist Sunny Hostin expressed surprise over the line, and pointed to Goldberg’s publicized “health challenges” that she’s “gotten over” in the last few years.

“We will hope that she just didn’t know, and now she’ll know the next time you go to talk about somebody, you talk about them as an actor,” Goldberg finished. “If you’re not sure if that’s them in there, don’t make blanket statements, because it makes you not sound like you know what you’re doing.”

And while many would be taking off their earrings, Vaselining up their faces, and shadowboxing to perfect that right hook in light of such an inflammatory comment, Whoopi remained unruffled (probably because she needs a break from apologizing).

Goldberg continued, noting that she felt it was “okay to not be a fan of a movie,” but urged the writer to “leave people’s looks out” of the criticism. “Just comment on the acting, and if you have a question, ask somebody. I’m sure you didn’t mean to be demeaning,” she said.

Here’s the discussion of the film, with talk of the fat suit debacle starting at the 2:30 mark:

Pretend for a moment that MeghanMy Father JohnMcCain didn’t rage quit The View, had any natural talent, was appearing in a film, and a critic mistakenly thought she was wearing a fat suit. The shrill screed coming from her red-lipped mouth-hole and echoing through ABC studios would stop the Earth on its axis. Hopefully, this particular movie critic learned a valuable lesson: if you’re going to come for Whoopi, focus on the majestic brow merkins she’s sporting in the film. Whoopi with brows just ain’t right.

Pic: Orion Pictures

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