“I might look a bit different from the last time you guys saw me here,” Rebel Wilson joked as she hosted the Baftas on Sunday evening. Behind her, a photo of herself two years ago flashed up on the screen, and the crowd cheered at the transformation. Wilson’s speech made me uncomfortable, not because of that cheer, or Emma Watson’s grimace as she joked about getting more roles now she’d lost weight, but because behind her jokes sits the bigger issue — that women, both on and off-screen, feel the need to justify their weight to the world.
Wilson lost 77 pounds during her ‘Year of Health’, by eating better and exercising more. From squatting using a wombat instead of a kettlebell to going out on hour-long hikes with a great podcast, the actor documented her journey on Instagram. She said she did this to inspire others, but also to be honest about her struggles, both withpolycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS) — a hormonal disorder that can cause menstrual irregularity, excess hair growth, acne, and obesity — and her unhealthy relationship with food.
