Wilson apologizes for remark

Rebel Wilson, known best for her role in the seemingly endless Pitch Perfect franchise, is starring in the upcoming rom-com-musical Isn’t It Romantic alongside Adam Devine and Liam Hemsworth. And, by her own estimation on The Ellen Degeneres Show last week, she is the first plus-sized actress to lead a rom-com.

Not so, the internet quickly and robustly let her know.

In fact, as all rom-com aficionados should know, Queen Latifah starred in the underrated gem Last Holiday in 2006 and Just Wright in 2010, while Mo’nique also starred in the lesser known Phat Girlz in 2006. When Twitter users pointed this out to Wilson, the actress doubled-down, tweeting, “Of course know of these movies but it was questionable as to whether: 1. Technically those actresses were plus size when filming those movies or 2. Technically those films are catorgorized/billed as a studio rom-com with a sole lead. So there’s a slight grey area.”

When black female critics and fans suggested that both Queen Latifah and Mo’nique had been overlooked because they’re black actresses, the actress began blocking them, inciting a #Rebelwilsonblockedme trend.

As playwright Claire Willett tweeted, “There’s a disturbingly common thing in fat white girl culture where fat women of colour – Black women in particular – are shut out of the conversation about body positivity, media stereotyping, representation, etc. Sometimes it’s rooted in the deep divide on TV, in movies and in the media between the Fat White Woman and the Fat Black Woman, who are two completely different s----y one-dimensional stereotypes. The Fat White Woman is a pathetic cat lady. The Fat Black Woman is ‘sassy.’”

Mo’nique also tweeted at Wilson, writing, “Let’s please not allow this business to erase our talent with giving grey areas and technicalities. Take a moment and know the history. DON’T BE A PART OF ERASING IT. I wish you the best.”

Wilson responded, writing, “It was never my intention to erase anyone else’s achievements and I adore you and Queen Latifah so so much x I support all plus size ladies and everything positive we are doing together.”

By Monday, Wilson had tweeted an apology: “In a couple of well-intentioned moments, hoping to lift my fellow plus sized women up, I neglected to show the proper respect to those who climbed this mountain before me like Mo’nique, Queen Latifah, Melissa McCarthy, Ricki Lake and likely many others . ... To be part of a problem I was hoping I was helping makes it that much more embarrassing & hard to acknowledge. I blocked people on Twitter because I was hurting from the criticism, but those are the people I actually need to hear from more, not less. Again, I am deeply sorry.”