Octavia Spencer: Being Overweight Makes You “Less Valuable”

Octavia Spencer has been cleaning up this award season for her role in 2011′s film adaptation of The Help. She’s already received a Golden Globe, and last night, she brought home the Best Supporting Actress award from the Screen Actors Guild. But she’s also gotten something else from Hollywood: the idea that being overweight makes you “less valuable,” according to People.

Here’s the entire quotation, which the celebrity magazine credits to a backstage moment with Spencer at last night’s award.

Any time you have too much around the middle, then there is a problem. [And] when you reach a certain weight, you are less valuable.

Initially, that assertion sounds pretty fat-shaming and body negative. But Spencer is a working actor, which means, in the last year, she’s learned about Hollywood and the film industry–including hard, awful, body-negative lessons like this. Does she find herself less “valuable” because of her weight, or does she think that producers, directors, and casting agents think she’s less valuable? I have a feeling it’s the latter.

This kind of real talk isn’t unusual for Spencer, who has been up-front about her feelings toward her weight, often speaking of the struggles that she (and many other women) face as a result of body-snarking society. She’s stated that “It has to stop,” referring to the cult of thinness and the pressure she feels to fit within a conventional body type. But this statement, unlike others that she’s made, seems to speak directly to Hollywood, instead of society on the whole.

These quotes reminds me of Zooey Deschanel‘s truth-bomb from last week, which, while equally difficult to read, is similarly true. Zooey, who is thin by most standards, stated that in Hollywood, she’s got a “normal” body, which might seem “weird” to some people. And while it feels strange–and sometimes borderline offensive–to see an actor say things like this in as many words, it’s the reality that they, in their line of work, are dealing with. And, as a result, it’s a reality that’s being broadcast to viewers who look to celebrities and their bodies for inspiration.

Does all this mean we won’t be seeing a more svelte Octavia Spencer in the future? Not necessarily–and that might not be a bad thing. Spencer isn’t just focused on weight as a measure of beauty; she’s recently stated that she doesn’t feel that she’s healthy at her current weight. In fact, she’s reported that she’s working out with a trainer, which is a great step toward getting stronger and more confident–regardless of whether or not she loses any weight.

No matter what Spencer weighs, it’s awesome for women to have someone like her who’s not afraid to speak up about what’s really happening in Hollywood–and what really needs to change.

Image: The Hollywood Reporter