Jennifer Lawrence says fat-shaming should be illegal in Walters interview
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Version 0 of 1. The Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence said she believes "it should be illegal to call somebody fat on TV". In an interview with the US TV host Barbara Walters broadcast on Wednesday, Lawrence, 23, star of the Hunger Games and American Hustle, spoke of her concerns over how young people are affected by media attitudes, saying: "Because why is humiliating people funny?" "I get it and I do it too, we all do it," she told Walters. "But I think when it comes to the media, the media needs to take responsibility for the effect it has on our younger generation, on these girls who are watching these television shows, and picking up how to talk and how to be cool. "So then all of a sudden being funny is making fun of the girl that's wearing an ugly dress ... and the word fat. I just think it should be illegal to call somebody fat on TV. "If we're regulating cigarettes and sex and cuss words because of the effect they have on our younger generation, why aren't we regulating things like calling people fat?" Lawrence's comments came after she was questioned about shows such as E! Fashion Police, presented by Joan Rivers, which criticise the way women look and have attacked Lawrence for her views. The actress, who won an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook, has often been outspoken on the subject of body image. Last month she told told the BBC that hearing negative things about her own appearance "was like being in high school". Last year she told Elle magazine: "In Hollywood, I'm obese. I'm considered a fat actress." The interview was broadcast in the US as part of the ABC News special, Barbara Walters Presents: The Ten Most Fascinating People of 2013. The list includes NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, singer Miley Cyrus, and Prince George, son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |