Acclaimed actor Whoopi Goldberg has spoken out against a film critic who commented on her appearance in the upcoming drama movie Till – a movie based on the true story of the 1955 Lynching of Emmitt Till in Mississippi.
Till recently premiered at the New York Film Festival, and follows the journey of Mamie Till Mobley, who seeks justice for the death of her young son. Goldberg stars in the film as Alma, the grandmother of the murdered boy. Despite receiving largely positive reviews, with the film currently holding a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, one published viewer for the upcoming flick, claimed that they were “distracted” by Goldberg’s “fat suit”.
Speaking on the talk show, The View, Goldberg called out the writer who claimed she was wearing a fat suit in Till – despite the fact she wasn’t wearing one at all.
“I don’t really care about how you felt about the movie,” Goldberg shared. “But you should know that was not a fat suit, that was me. That was me. That was steroids. Remember last year? I assume you don’t watch the show, or you would know that was not a fat suit.”
“It’s OK not to be a fan of a movie, but you want to leave people’s looks out. Just comment on the acting. And if you have a question, ask somebody. I’m sure you didn’t mean to be demeaning.”
Goldberg didn’t name the critic who made the claim or the publication they work for. However, fellow View co-panellist, Sunny Hostin, did reveal how surprised she was over the ‘fat suit comment’ given how public Goldberg’s “health challenges” have been in recent years, such as the actor suffering from pneumonia in 2019.
“We will hope that she just didn’t know, and now she’ll know the next time you go to talk about somebody, you talk about them as an actor,” Goldberg said. “If you’re not sure if that’s them in there, don’t make blanket statements because it makes you not sound like you know what you’re doing.”
Besides working as an actor on the film, Goldberg is a producer of Till. Emmett Till was lynched for supposedly whistling at a white woman at Bryant’s Grocery & Meat Market in Money, Mississippi, back in 1955. The 14-year-old boy was dragged by a group of men from his uncle’s home and later murdered.
Till is set to release across the US on October 14, 2022, and in UK theatres come January 13, 2023. For more top picks, here are all the 2023 movies that we can’t wait to see.