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Brendan Fraser Addresses Backlash Over Wearing A Fat Suit In 'The Whale': 'I'm Not A Small Man'
Actor Brendan Fraser has received quite a bit of attention from his role in the upcoming film The Whale directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by playwright Samuel D. Hunter.
Last month, Fraser received a six minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival for his performance, with Oscar buzz surrounding his triumphant comeback.
In the film, Fraser plays Charlie, a 600-pound gay man suffering the loss of a lover while also attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
However, Fraser is also receiving some backlash as he wears a weight-increasing prosthetic, a.k.a a fat suit, for his role.
When asked about the criticism he has received, Fraser told Newsweek:
"I'm not a small man. And I don't know what the metric is to qualify to play the role."
"I only know that I had to give an honest a performance as I can."
Director Aronofsky also told Newsweek:
"There's no way you can cast someone to play this job, so we had to use makeup to get there."
"Most of the people that are playing critique have not seen the film. So I welcome everyone to see the film because the film is about bringing empathy to characters that you don't expect to feel for."
Some Twitter users defended Fraser, claiming due to the character's changes throughout the film prosthetics were necessary.
\u201c@whatsupwithmaia @lindaholmes the character is trying to kill himself by eating himself to death. he\u2019s suicidally obese. i don\u2019t think that would have worked with brendan\u2019s real weight. whether you approve of that storyline or not is another issue entirely.\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
\u201c@lindaholmes Aren\u2019t these suites necessary sometimes? Like if a character gains weight throughout a story?\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
\u201c@lindaholmes At least for this role, some prosthetics would have been necessary anyway, since the character changes weights dramatically throughout, and there\u2019s no way an actor could do that over the course of a movie shoot, esp bc they don\u2019t shoot in sequence.\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
Many, however, feel the use of the prosthetics was in bad taste, further glorifying Hollywood's stigmatization and mockery of those who don't meet their archaic body standards.
\u201cI'm sorry but it's not sitting well with me that Brendan Frasier's big comeback role is one where he dons a fat suit and the title of the movie is "The Whale". It's just not okay.\u201d— Zoe \ud83d\udc96\ud83d\udc9c\ud83d\udc99\u2721\ufe0f black lives matter (@Zoe \ud83d\udc96\ud83d\udc9c\ud83d\udc99\u2721\ufe0f black lives matter) 1662413333
\u201c@lindaholmes I have struggled a lot with binge eating and restrictive eating in the past, and I'm v worried about how this flin will portray the main character. From what I've heard so far about the dialogue, it's sounds like a lot of fatphobia. I also hate fat suits\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
\u201c@lindaholmes I\u2019m going to wait until he makes a movie that isn\u2019t wildly offensive. I\u2019m done with Hollywood both enforcing thinness as a societal must and using fat suits as a way for actors to display humility and dramatic chops.\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
\u201c@lindaholmes Wait. The movie is called #TheWhale? Omg. I simply cannot in 2022.\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
It seems several are torn between being angry and wanting to support Fraser in what could be his great comeback.
\u201cIt's impossible for me to feel anything but simultaneously simmering anger and poignant empathy thinking about Brendan Frasier in a fat suit and the ways that non-famous/wealthy fat people have been treated for even daring to ask folks to not mock/fat shame Frasier.\u201d— Gregory t(he) Undead (@Gregory t(he) Undead) 1663273954
\u201c@jessicasara @lindaholmes Lol. I\u2019ve been reading up on this all weekend. I\u2019m with you. Hate prosthetics or fat suits for actors but it also sounds like he may be genuinely really good in this?\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
\u201c@lindaholmes I love Brendan Frasier and also I think the premise would have worked just as well at the size the he currently is in his real body. They didn\u2019t need the character to be 600 pounds to tell this story.\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
\u201c@lindaholmes The dialogue surrounding the actor and the role are already triggering for me. I am so happy for B Fraser but I am dreading the next 6 months of think pieces about actors, weight and the way society looks at heavy people. DREADING IT.\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
\u201cI see I\u2019m going to be stuck between how much I root for Brendan Fraser and how much I hate fat suits.\u201d— Linda Holmes (@Linda Holmes) 1662336100
The fat suit is not the only controversy.
Several LGBTQ+ actors have criticized The Whale for casting a large heterosexual man when large gay men cannot get casting calls because of their size and sexual orientation.
Frasier finished the interview with:
"I'm hopeful that we can change some hearts and minds at least in terms of how we think and feel about those who live with obesity."
The Whale is set to be released in theaters in the U.S. in December but has been playing at several festivals.