Author and comedian, Rosie Waterland has slammed fellow comedian Celeste Barber for calling her lingerie collaboration with Bras N Things “size-inclusive”.
Last week Barber launched her lingerie line with a fun campaign, that included shots of the viral comedian wearing lingerie with her sneakers and shaving her legs – clearly the collection was aimed at being relatable and wearable.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CW71fqbgez0/
Of course, Barber is known for recreating photos of celebrities and models in a more relatable way on Instagram, and the campaign really played to her strengths.
Naturally, Barber has also been doing press for the collaboration and has been discussing how pleased she is with the fact her lingerie line offers extended sizing.
When Urban List asked Barber, “Why was creating a size-inclusive range so important for you?”
She responded: “It should be important to everyone. The fact that size inclusivity is still a big deal is bananas to me.
“All women deserve to be seen. We deserve to be seen and catered for in all our glory, and I wanted to make this as accessible to as many bodies as possible.
“BNT were so amazing about it and I was really full-on about extending the sizing. They didn’t flinch at all.”
Similarly, she told Grazia, “Body shaming is a multibillion-dollar industry and unfortunately, money talks. Companies are scared to change what they do because it’s been working for them for so long.
“So, we have to keep putting different excellent bodies in campaigns as much as possible, create a new norm and watch those products sell out!
“The people want it but it’s the culture that’s taking a little longer to jump on board. It’s happening but nowhere near as quickly as I’d like. I’m not known for my patience.”
This is where it gets interesting. While some styles in the range do go up to a size 20, not all do. It’s also worth noting that some brands that label themselves as size-inclusive have a more extended sizing range. For example, Cotton On’s extended size range goes up to a size twenty-four.
Waterland has seemingly been following the campaign and the wording around it quite closely.
When the campaign launched Waterland took to Twitter and wrote: “Lol at doing an interview saying your whole thing is about breaking down traditional beauty standards, but that interview is you promoting your underwear line that only goes up to a size 20.”
However, she didn’t specifically reference Barber, so it was hard to be sure that was who she was talking about.
https://twitter.com/RosieWaterland/status/1465651344090353664
Interestingly, yesterday Waterland took to Instagram on her stories to call out Barber directly.
Waterland posted a photo of the article Barber did with Grazia and wrote: “Get 100 per cent fucked, so you’re not contributing to the body-shaming industry by a) making endless fun of women who embrace their sexuality and b) cashing in by releasing an underwear line that gaslights women and says it’s all about accepting ‘real bodies’ but it only goes up to a size 20 in limited items? I say again – get 100 per cent fucked.
“You are profiting off the shitty industry standards you say you are fighting against. The hypocrisy here blows my fkn mind.”
Waterland also posted about the issue on her Instagram page.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXLHHcTv4Ui/
Waterland said: “So tired of not being considered a person worth making clothing for. But especially by the brands who pat themselves on the back for being for “All Women! (Ew, except you fatty.)” Just so tired.”
Barber has yet to respond to Waterland’s criticism.
