www.usatoday.com/story/life: If you didn't recognize Paulson in the trailer for Ryan Murphy's upcoming FX series "Impeachment: American Crime Story" it's likely because the Emmy-winner looks noticeably heavier in the role – thanks both to weight gain and additional prosthetics, according to the Los Angeles Times. This has renewed the controversy regarding actors adorning fat suits.
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Ever since I watched American Horror Story at the too young age of 12, I have always been a fan of Sarah Paulson. Because of this, this article grabbed my attention and I decided to read it. The article discusses Sarah Paulson's portrayal of Linda Tripp in the new show "Impeachment: American Crime Story". Article author David Oliver the problematic nature behind Sarah Paulson's casting for the role, as she had to use a fat suit. He raises the question, why can't "fat actors" be used to play "fat roles". He raises a very valid point! Why higher an actor that does not fit the physical appearance of a role, and have to spend extra money on changing the actor's appearance to fit the visual needs of the character? I knew there was immense privilege in the film industry for skinnier actors, but it is incredibly disappointing to me that the film industry even prioritizes traditionally skinny actors over traditionally fat actors for roles that are specifically stated as "fat".
This article evokes a lot of thought about the acting industry and general workplace ethics. Initially I agreed that generally there is some issue with frequently using fat suits in the media, both for perpetuating fat-phobia and creating unequity in job opportunities. However, I think it is also important to consider that all actors rely on rolls for jobs. For people who are as well known and have ample job opportunities such as Sarah Paulson I do believe that they should avoid roles that would be better suited for an underrepresented group because they have that luxury. However, If someone is struggling for a role to pay rent/ support themselves, it may be unfair to ask them to turn down a job that they worked toward and needed. Of course, people in casting should be thinking about this as well, ethics in casting is a whole different layer of complication to searching for actors, but should that fall on the actors to turn down a job?
I was pulled to this article because I have been affected by plus-size representation. I went to see Hairspray at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with my high school and it was an incredible show. My best friend is a plus-sized actress and this was her first experience seeing someone with her body on stage. She immediately broke down sobbing and cried the entire first act. This was huge for her and an incredibly emotional moment. I was brought to tears because not only was I so happy for her I was forced to acknowledge the privilege I have when it comes to representation on stage. This changed my perspective of representation. Everyone and I mean everyone deserves to be represented on stage (or on film). This ties in with the main idea of this article; “Fat actors should be cast in fat roles.” There are far too many actors in this industry for us to settle on actors who have to be physically changed to look like the (especially human) characters they are playing.
There is no question that casting a known actress increases ticket revenue for any production, and it goes without saying this “appeal through fame” applies to all subsections of the entertainment business. After all, it is often the reason Broadway witnesses the closing and opening of numerous production (Hugh Jackman’s The Music Man for instance). Nevertheless, I also believe in being sensitive and smart about casting decisions. I do not doubt Sarah Paulson was more than equipped to “act” through the role, however, the team should have considered casting someone who fit Linda Tripp’s body type. That being said, I also believe that is the basis of acting– pretending to be something/someone you are not, and (perhaps most importantly) not everything can be a fight. So, while I understand the controversy and sympathize with the opposition, I do not believe Paulson was actively causing harm or perpetuating the notion of “fat phobia”.
It is really no secret that Hollywood really continues to struggle with representation on screen. I have seen a few other articles citing this controversy with Sarah Paulsen wearing a fat suit to play this character and that controversy is very much deserved. The responsibility of this controversy really lies with Sarah Paulsen for accepting the role, and the producers for not taking the adequate measures to ensure that this movie was accurately representing the people they are trying to portray. Nobody can pretend like Hollywood does not have enough people to cast each role accurately and respectfully, it is time to finally make the decision that real life people need to be played by someone who shares their likeness without shoving someone who is iconically thin into a fat suit. Do I think Hollywood will ever get their act together and choose the right actors for the right role? No, I do not, but I do believe that there will come a time where audiences will abandon Hollywood in favor of films that do not perpetuate phobia and stereotypes.
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