Whoopi Goldberg Reacts to 'Till' Body Criticism: 'That Was Not a Fat Suit, That Was Me'

By Daniel S. Levine

Whoopi Goldberg is calling out a demeaning comment from a film critic who assumed she was wearing a fat suit in the upcoming historical drama movie Till. On The View this week, the actress corrected the critic, saying that she was not wearing a fat suit at all when she filmed her scenes as Alma Carthan, the grandmother of Emmett Till. The film, directed by Chinonye Chukwu, centers on Till's mother, Mamie Till, who became an important figure in the Civil Rights Movement after her son was lynched.

"There was a young lady who writes for one of the magazines, and she was distracted by my fat suit, in her review," Goldberg said on the air Monday, following the film's premiere at the New York Film Festival over the weekend. "I don't really care how you felt about the movie, but you should know that was not a fat suit, that was me... I assume you don't watch the show, or you would know that was not a fat suit."

Goldberg was referring to the review by The Daily Beast, reports Entertainment Weekly. The review's original reference to Goldberg wearing a "distracting fat suit" was deleted, but an editor's note was added. "Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Whoopi Goldberg says she was not wearing a fat suit," the note reads.

The Oscar winner said it was "okay to not be a fan of the movie," but she asked the critic to "leave people's looks out" of the review. "Just comment on the acting, and if you have a question, ask somebody. I'm sure you didn't mean to be demeaning," Goldberg added. The View co-host Sunny Hostin added that she was surprised to see the line in the review because of Goldberg's publicized "health challenges" in the past few years.

"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."

Goldberg is also a producer on Till, which will have a limited release on Oct. 14 before a national release on Oct. 28. The film stars Jalyn Hill as Emmett Till, who was lynched in 1955 by white supremacists when he visited his cousins in Mississippi. His mother, played by Danielle Deadwyler, became an activist in the Civil Rights Movement and insisted on an open-casket funeral so the world could see what was done to her son. Frankie Faison, Haley Bennett, Jayme Lawson, Tosin Cole, Kevin Carroll, Sean Patrick Thomas, John Douglas Thompson, and Roger Guenveur Smith also star. Chukwu co-wrote the film with Keith Beauchamp and Michael Reilly. 

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