Whoopi Goldberg addresses 'distracting fat suit' claims

Whoopi Goldberg wasn’t best pleased that an entertainment journalist incorrectly accused her of wearing a fat suit in her new film.

Goldberg plays the grandma of Emmett Till in Till, director Chinonye Chukwu’s new film about Emmett, a 14-year-old boy who was lynched by white supremacists in 1955.

A recent review of Chukwu’s movie honed in on Goldberg, saying she was wearing a ‘distracting fat suit’.

The review was written by The Daily Beast’s Kyndall Cunningham and published on Saturday (1 October). Watch Goldberg's response below.

On Monday (3 October), Goldberg addressed Cunningham’s comment on The View, saying: “I have to say something because there was a young lady who writes for one of the magazines, and she was distracted by my fat suit in her review." 

Goldberg added: "Now, and I’m just going to say this. I don’t really care how you felt about the movie, but you should know that was not a fat suit. That was me."

The star went on to explain that she had been forced to take steroids last year due to an illness she was hospitalised for.  

Noting that the medicine made her gain weight, Goldberg continued: “And I assume you don't watch the show or you would have known that that was not a fat suit, but I just want to let you know that it’s OK not to be a fan of a movie, but you want to leave people’s looks out.

"So just comment on the acting, and if you have a question, ask somebody because I’m sure you didn’t mean to be demeaning."

Goldberg’s fellow presenters had her back, with Sara Haines saying she ‘questioned Cunningham’s abilities to review a movie in general’ while Sunny Hostin told Cunningham: “You have to do your research.”

Orion Pictures

After Monday’s episode of The View aired, the fat suit claim was removed from Daily Beast’s article and an editor’s note was added that read: "This story has been updated to reflect that Whoopi Goldberg says she was not wearing a fat suit."

UNILAD has approached The Daily Beast for comment. 

On 21 August, 1955, Till was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Donham at a grocery store she owned with her husband, Roy.

Donham, a white woman, claimed that Till made ‘advances’ towards her, resulting in his brutal murder at the hands of Roy and his half-brother JW Milam.

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