Octavia, you tricky trickster! Are you trying to win my heart? Are you trying to get me, along with everyone else, to root for you to win Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards? Because it might be working.
But no! Melissa McCarthy is nominated in the same category, and I love Melissa McCarthy. There was never any doubt that if she were nominated, I would wish with all my heart that she would win. Curse you, Octavia!
If you’ll remember, earlier this week I told you guys about Octavia’s classy sass, about her comments on her weight and how she believes that “women would be much happier if they ate.” I was all “tell ’em, girl,” and now that Octavia has made another statement, this time on her Facebook, I want her to tell ’em even more. I want her to tell ’em … in her acceptance speech at the Oscars?
Here’s the note on Octavia’s Facebook, which is titled “A Weighty Isssue”:
After being honored by my Guild on Sunday, I was whisked to the Press Room where one of the first questions I was asked (by Ted Casablanca) was ‘what I felt about underweight women’. (i’m paraphrasing here) I’m thinking….this is relevant because… Then I started thinking, would these questions ever be asked of my male counterparts? Better yet, underweight actors or actresses? Nah, I don’t think so!
Anyway, I answer: “Women would be alot happier if they ate…However, it is society that has told them and continues to tell them that you are less valued if you are of a certain age, or weight…something has to change. ” I began that by addressing my own weight issue..”Granted I’m not at the healthiest weight because when you are heavier around the middle…” blah blah blah. YOu get it. The next thing I read, Octavia Spencer is WORRIED ABOUT HER WEIGHT…. OCTAVIA SPENCER FEELS SHE IS LESS VALUED BECAUSE OF HER WEIGHT…
Of course I was miffed that not only was I being misrepresented, but it was sending THE WRONG MESSAGE to kids out there.
So, I decided to tell you IN MY OWN DAMNED WORDS the truth!
First of all, Ladies and Gents here’s what i am NOT DOING….I am NOT WORRYING ABOUT MY WEIGHT! I AM NOT TRYING TO CONFORM TO an unrealistic model of beauty.
I AM however being proactive in being the healthiest I can be. And before you ask, NO, awards season is not the reason. I’ve been doing this for the past 10 years because it took that long to gain the weight! Right now, believe it or not, I’m pretty damn healthy! 20 LBS (max) is all I intend to lose.
Now hopefully having cleared up the constantly tweeted, and blogged about “I am less valuable because of my weight” MISQUOTES attributed to me, I want to touch on the real issue here. The weight obsessed media is destroying not only us but our children! Our culture is at the precipice of redifining who we are. Right now in this salacious age of the internet coupled with the “beauty and fashion” industries respectively ONLY promoting a “certain” kind of pretty, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in bullying, eating disorders and body dysmorphia among MALE and female teens. This is no joking matter.
Here’s what I will leave you with: Be happy in your own skin. If you are unhealthy start by making small changes to become healthier. You are unique, beautiful, and worthy. Last but certainly not least, don’t buy into any of it. AND I MEAN LITERALLY! I don’t buy magazines that don’t feature women who represent my physicality or varying ethicities on their cover because they are saying, YOU DON’T MATTER TO ME…YOU ARE NOT MY DEMOGRAPHIC. To that I say, good, that’s $35 a week I can save!
God bless!
Despite her excessive use of capslock, I am really feeling Octavia here. It’s a shame that people tend to focus more on maintaining a certain dress size then on being healthy and happy, and I’m glad that this lady is able to speak on that in a way that isn’t overly aggressive or annoying.
Are you guys as into Octavia Spencer right now as I am?
It seems like most the time all these actresses who say they’re comfortable and confident at their current weight then go on to LOSE a ton of weight and say how much better they feel :/
Huzzah, Octavia! I think of what (the fictional) Billy Elliott’s mom wrote to him in a letter that his ballet teacher re-read to him-“Always be yourself”. Let us all take that to heart!
She’s awesome! I wish more “celebrities” were as real, honest, and aware like her.