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Netflix's 'Matilda' Called Out For Reinforcing Fatphobia By Putting Emma Thompson In Fat Suit
With so many people who grew up with the beloved original 1996 Matilda film now having kids of their own, Netflix's upcoming musical adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl tale is sure to be a barnstormer.
But as Netflix begins promoting the film in advance of its launch later this year, an angry backlash is building because of what many see as the film's reinforcement of fatphobia.
After the film's trailer dropped, star Emma Thompson's costume seemed to grab more attention than the film itself--Thompson appeared in prosthetics and a fat suit, sparking anger on social media.
\u201cI can't believe someone would agree to put a thin person into this costume for Matilda the musical. The original was already fat phobic enough but now they put Emma Thompson into a fat suit.\u201d— Amanda Levitt (@Amanda Levitt) 1655430957
Like many characters in Dahl's stories, Thompson's villainous character of Miss Trunchbull has an exaggerated, muscular appearance that makes her loom over many other characters in the story.
In the stage musical version in fact, Miss Trunchbull is typically played by a man, a nod to the long British tradition of "pantomime dames" drag performances, in order to set her up as a foil for the story's feminine, conventionally beautiful character Miss Honey.
To do this, the new Netflix version puts Thompson in a fat suit and facial prosthetics meant to make her loom large and seem unattractive and villainous--and many are angry about it.
Fat suits have long been controversial for the ways they reinforce fatphobia by making mockeries, punchlines and caricatures--and in Trunchbull's case, villains--of fat people.
That's problematic enough, but activists and others critical of the practice also frequently point out that using fat suits and prosthetics takes jobs away from plus-size actors who could just as easily have played Trunchbull's character in Matilda.
The images of Thompson's Matilda get-up were particularly galling for many fat people and activists because she has been outspoken in her opposition to body standards and body shaming.
Thompson spoke out about this just recently in fact, during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in which she urged people to not "waste your life's purpose worrying about your body."
\u201c"don't waste your time, don't waste your life's purpose worrying about your body. this is your vessel, it's your house, it's where you live. there's no point in judging it." \u2014 emma thompson, thank you for this\u201d— cori (@cori) 1655438836
On Twitter, the images of Thompson left many deeply angry.
\u201cwe have to stop putting everybody in fat suits and bring back the tradition of uhh just allowing some fat people to be actors\u201d— xtina (@xtina) 1655318626
\u201cI'd just like to be able to sit down and watch a movie and know that my body won't be a prop, a punchline, a cautionary tale, or completely erased. There are a few that don't lean into those tropes, but many do. So I end up watching most media waiting for the other shoe to drop.\u201d— Aubrey Gordon (she/her/hers) (@Aubrey Gordon (she/her/hers)) 1655592163
\u201cI love Matilda the book and am excited for the movie musical adaptation. However, fat suits are never okay and the film industry should know that by now!\u201d— Sarah Sahagian (@Sarah Sahagian) 1655399025
\u201cWe literally never need a skinny actor in a fat suit. And we should definitely hold actors, producers, directors and casting directors accountable to that until they STOP\u201d— Brooke Obie Is Excessively Black (@Brooke Obie Is Excessively Black) 1655750073
\u201cOh Emma...\nThen she pops on a fat suit for her role in Matilda & undermines all the excellent messages she gives here. It's such a disconnect! \nI love Emma Thompson but I'm not sure she realises that by demonising fat women, she's part of the problem. \n@sezl & I have thoughts.\u201d— Sarah Simons (@Sarah Simons) 1655752883
\u201cYes, it's offensive about Emma Thompson wearing a fat suit in the Matilda movie. But the initial failure is that almost every woman Dahl wrote is either a sugar-sweet, pretty, good natured Miss Honey or a haggard evil (and in his mind, physically disgusting) Miss Trunchbull.\u201d— Vaxine Beneba Clarke (@Vaxine Beneba Clarke) 1655766994
\u201cFucking stop putting actors in fat suits. Fat bodies aren't a costume. We don't need another thin actor cosplaying us, we need fat actors cast in diverse roles, including those of fat characters. Shame on them for offering that role to Emma Thompson & shame on her for taking it.\u201d— Ragen Chastain (@Ragen Chastain) 1655848178
\u201cIt has been really disappointing to see Emma Thompson put on a fat suit for this role. I\u2019ve always loved her work. But this is just so gross\u201d— Louisa \ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc6d (@Louisa \ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc6d) 1655668944
\u201cI'm sure Emma Thompson will be a delight as Trunchbull in the new MATILDA, but there's something so discomfiting about this modern trend of shoving skinny movie stars into fat suits and monster make-up rather than finding interesting people and faces.\u201d— Brendan Foley (@Brendan Foley) 1655319829
\u201cSo, I also hate the Emma Thompson in a fat suit thing but more than that- I hate that directors read \u201clarge woman\u201d and go \u201cah yes, fat.\u201d No, you doofus. Trunchbull is imposing and muscular and built like she can break me in half. She\u2019s Luisa from encanto but evil. Fat =/=evil \ud83e\uddf5\u201d— Ready for Polyamory \ud83d\udc99\u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udda4 (@Ready for Polyamory \ud83d\udc99\u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udda4) 1655820318
Netflix's new take on Matilda premieres in December.