Dove expressed outrage that Brendan Fraser, who wears a fat-suit in the movie ” The Whale”, was awarded an Oscar.
The soap company replied to a tweet by overweight user @KBHeylen that indicated disenchantment that “The Whale” won an Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
“So disappointing that The Whale won the Oscar for the best hair and makeup.”
They added: “Fat suits are harmful – they are not your opportunity to win awards. Our identity is not your costume. Cast fat actors to play fat characters.”
Dove agreed with the user: “Stop giving fat suits awards. We want better representation in Hollywood.”
Stop giving fat suits awards ‼️ We want better representation in Hollywood. #LetsChangeBeauty
— Dove (@Dove) March 13, 2023
While Dove only recently joined the conversation, The Whale has been receiving backlash for months. One social media user commented : “The Oscar for best makeup going to the construction of a fat suit on ‘The Whale” is blatantly disrespectful. And to blast this specific image of a fake fat body on display behind the award is inconceivable.”
Another user tweeted: “I don’t appreciate that the makeup team who created a fat suit just won an Oscar and that is because we need to have better stories with fat actors and not thinner actors in fat suits.”
This role saw the re-emergence of Fraser, who had been blacklisted from Hollywood for speaking out about the sexual assault he suffered at the hands of Hollywood Foreign Press Association president, Philip Berk.
In his interview with Variety, Fraser commented on why he took on the fat-suit:
“It’s important to say this, because there are those who live with this disease,” he said.
“I felt empowered to be their voice and to be as honest as I could and as authentic as I could in the portrayal. Look, my weight has been all over the map.”
“I put on weight to play this role, and it wasn’t enough — so the body had to go on top of that, and the two worked together.”
On the other end of the spectrum, many users supported Fraser and were unimpressed by Dove. Twitter was quick to react, slamming the corporation for jumping on the woke bandwagon.
A twitter user commented: “So you want people to win because of their identity and not their acting ability. Got it.”
So you want people to win because of their identity and not their acting ability. Got it.
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) March 14, 2023
Another user tweeted: “Thank you, soap company, for supporting the morbidly obese and helping them to embrace their poor health and celebrate early death. That’s quite a marketing strategy.”
Thank you, soap company, for supporting the morbidly obese and helping them to embrace their poor health and celebrate early death. That’s quite a marketing strategy.
— Alaskan Tequila (@LTequila4) March 15, 2023
Film critic, ‘The Critical Drinker’ said: ‘Maybe because being 600lb is massively dangerous, and film studios would rather use prosthetics and makeup than an actor who might not even survive the film?’
Alrighty. I’m back to buying my face soap at the local hippy place. They charge more but it’s worth it to not support unhealthy lifestyle promoters.
— Nancy the Neanderthal 🇺🇸 (@nan_mclellan) March 15, 2023
Someone who felt strongly about the issue commented: “Agreed. If an actor is portraying Abraham Lincoln, the actor MUST BE ABRAHAM LINCOLN!”
A user even called for Jeremy Boreing, CEO of The Daily Wire, defender of the ostracised right-wing and creator of anti-woke products to create Jeremy’s soap.
I can’t wait for Jeremy’s Soap to come out!”
But while Dove has got it wrong in the past, (who can forget the ad below) its stance remains on brand with its messaging.
Dove states: “We believe beauty should be a source of confidence, and not anxiety. That’s why we are here to help women everywhere develop a positive relationship with the way they look, helping them raise their self-esteem and realise their full potential.”
The conversation around “body positivity” and “fat acceptance” has recently been condemned and misunderstood by critics who think the terms encourage obesity.
But it’s more nuanced than that. The body positive movement encourages people to have a positive relationship with their body, and this healthy relationship can exist simultaneously with an acceptance that being overweight contributes to numerous health concerns.
Because hating your body isn’t going to help you lose weight and be healthy anyway. Research shows that weight stigma leads to weight gain and less healthy behaviours.
The Office on Women’s Health also supports this view, stating: “A healthy body image means you feel comfortable in your body and you feel good about the way you look. This includes what you think and feel about your appearance and how you judge your own self-worth. A negative body image can put you at higher risk of certain mental health conditions, such as eating disorders and depression.”
Therefore it’s clear that Dove’s exasperation isn’t a promotion of obesity, but a call for representation and a plea to stop the fat-shaming.
Feature image source: Youtube/@Felipe’s scenes
