Whoopi Goldberg Slaps Back At Fat Suit Accusations
Whoopi Goldberg says she was not wearing a fat suit in Till.
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Whoopi Goldberg has addressed a critic who said she was distracted by a fat suit the actress wore in the Emmett Till biopic, Till. The 66-year-old, who portrays Alma Carthan in the film, reacted to the comment during a recent episode of The View. She also explained that she was not wearing a prosthetic suit for the role. “I don’t really care how you felt about the movie, but you should know that was not a fat suit. That was me,” she said.
Referencing her ongoing health problems, the Sister Act alum explained that what the critic thought was a fat suit was actually her body on steroid treatments “I just want to let you know that it’s ok to not be a fan of a movie,” Whoopi Goldberg continued via Entertainment Weekly. “But you want to leave people’s looks out. Just comment on the acting, and if you have a question, ask somebody. I’m sure you didn’t mean to be demeaning.”
The View co-host Sunny Hostin also noted that a reviewer should do their research before writing. Giving The Daily Beast writer the benefit of the doubt, Whoopi Goldberg added that she will assume the critic simply didn’t know. But she hopes that the next time the writer talks about someone, she will talk about them as an actor. “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,” she added.
Following Whoopi Goldberg’s response, the fat suit comment has been deleted from The Daily Beast‘s review of the film. An editor’s note at the end of the lengthy story now indicates that the review has been updated to reflect that the popular actress says she was not wearing a fat suit in Till. Various media outlets have reached out to the critic for comment, but there has been no feedback at this time.
Meanwhile, Till had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival on October 1st and is scheduled for a mainstream release on October 14th. The biopic is directed by Chinonye Chukwu from a script she co-wrote with Michael Reilly and Keith Beauchamp. It stars Danielle Deadwyler as Mamie Till and Jalyn Hall as Emmett Till. Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, and Whoopi Goldberg also star as John Carthan, Carolyn Bryant, and Alma Carthan, respectively.
The Whoopi Goldberg film tells the true story of Mamie Till, who became an educator and activist in the Civil Rights Movement after the death of her 14-year-old son, Emmett. He was lynched in 1955 by white supremacists for allegedly whistling at a white woman named Carolyn Bryant, while visiting his cousins in Money, Mississippi. At the funeral, Mamie Till insisted that his casket be left open to let the world see what they had done to him.
Due to the brutal nature of his killing, Emmett Till’s murder is heard about, but not shown in the film. Speaking about the film, Whoopi Goldberg told the audience to not be concerned about the violence because the film is not violent. “If you’re watching Jeffrey Dahmer [Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story] you’ve seen much more violence that you’ll see in this,” she added via The Hollywood Reporter.
Whoopi Goldberg added that Till is an important film for families because if you are a mother, Emmett Till could be your child. “This happened 67 years ago and we’re still in the midst of it,” she added.
