COSTARS DEFEND MELANIE

DON’T call her fat! Perfectly averagesized Yellowjackets star Melanie Lynskey was stunned when a production member of the Showtime hit made negative comments about her body. “They were asking me, ‘What do you plan to do? I’m sure the producers will get you a trainer. They’d love to help you with this,’” the 5-foot-7 actress recently recalled.

Not only was the body-shaming hurtful, it ran counter to Melanie’s vision for her character, the deceptively docile Shauna. “It was really important to me for [Shauna] to not ever comment on my body, to not have me putting a dress on and being like,

‘I wish I looked a bit better,’” she explained. “I did find it important that this character is just comfortable and sexual and not thinking or talking about it.”

Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci and Tawny Cypress, her costars on the time-hopping show about a girls’ soccer team that survives a plane crash, were outraged on the 44-year-old’s behalf. Juliette even wrote a letter to the show’s producers complaining about the incident. For Melanie, being relatable is key: “I want women to be able to watch it and be like, ‘Wow, she looks like me and nobody’s saying she’s the fat one.’ That representation is important.” ★