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| Rebel Wilson apologized Monday after declaring herself the first plus-size actress to star in a romantic comedy. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI |
By Annie Martin, UPI
Rebel Wilson is "deeply sorry" for her recent comment about being a plus-size actress.
The 38-year-old Australian star apologized in a series of tweets Monday after declaring herself the first plus-size actress to star in a romantic comedy last week.
"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," Wilson wrote.
"With the help of some very compassionate and well-thought out responses from others on social media, I now realize what I said was not only wrong but also incredibly hurtful. To be part of a problem I was hoping I was helping makes it that much more embarrassing & hard to acknowledge," she said.
"I blocked people on Twitter because I was hurting from the criticism, but these are the people I actually need to hear from more, not less," the star added. "Again, I am deeply sorry."
Wilson, who stars in the new movie Isn't It Romantic, made the remark during Wednesday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She initially defended her comment after fans pointed out Queen Latifah and Mo'Nique had previously played leads in romantic comedies.
"Yeah I 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," she tweeted Thursday.
Mo'Nique responded to Wilson's post in a tweet Saturday.
"Hey my sweet sister. 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," the actress wrote.
Isn't It Romantic opens in theaters on Valentine's Day in February. The film co-stars Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine and Priyanka Chopra.
