Celebs Who Have Been Called Fat - and How They Slapped Back
Melissa McCarthy was called a "hippo" by a film critic -- and she's not alone.
June 15, 2013 — -- intro: When Melissa McCarthy's film "The Identity Thief" hit theaters in February, a New York film critic called her "tractor-sized" and later referred to her as a "female hippo."
McCarthy, 42, didn't address the insults at the time, but in a recent interview, she admitted that her initial reaction was, "Really?" followed by, she said, "Why would someone O.K. that?"
"I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate," she told the New York Times, adding that had the situation happened when she was 20, "it may have crushed me."
But now, she added, "I just thought, that's someone who's in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot. I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids who are mooning me and singing me songs."
Read on to see who else in Hollywood has handled similar situations.
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title: Kate Uptontext: Last year, after Kate Upton, 21, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue, a blogger slammed the model's body, saying, "Huge thighs, no waist, big fat floppy boobs, terrible body definition -- she looks like a squishy brick."
Upton was unfazed.
"I love my body," she said recently. "It's what God gave me. I feel confident with myself, and if that inspires other women to feel confident with their bodies, great."
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quicklist: 2title: Adeletext: Designer Karl Lagerfeld has called the Grammy winner "a little too fat," and Joan Rivers once said, "She's a chubby lady who's very, very rich and she should just calm down - or lose weight."
The 24-year-old said last year that she never thinks about her appearance negatively.
"It only comes to my attention if I was to read something about it," she told "60 Minutes," adding that even the insults don't bother her. "I've never seen magazine covers and seen music videos and been like, 'I need to look like that if I want to be a success.' ... To sell more records, I don't even need to. I'm selling records."
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quicklist: 3title: Christina Aguileratext: In 2011, Kelly Osbourne slammed the "Voice" coach, calling her "fat," but Aguilera, 32, didn't respond.
"I've always been one to make it very clear, love me or hate me, take it or leave it, this is who I am," she told People magazine last year. "I embrace my body, and I embrace everything about myself."
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quicklist: 4title: Jessica Simpsontext: For the past few years, Jessica Simpson has been the target of cruel comments about her weight, even when she was pregnant with her daughter, Maxwell, now 1.
While the 32-year-old always spoke positively about her self-image, after she gave birth she told People magazine that she did have a history of yo-yo dieting. Therefore, she became a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers.
"Weight Watchers changed my relationship with food, and I feel so much more prepared to make the right choices," she said. "It feels pretty incredible."
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quicklist: 5title: Tyra Bankstext: In 2007, an unflattering photo of "America's Next Top Model" host Tyra Banks in a bathing suit caused one tabloid to call her "Tyra Porkchop," while another proclaimed, "America's Next Top Waddle."
Banks, 39, discussed the issue on her talk show.
"Luckily I'm strong enough and I have a good support system... so I can overcome these kind of attacks," she said. "But if I have lower self-esteem, I would probably be starving myself right now. But that is exactly what is happening to other women all over this country. So I have something to say to all of you that have something to say about me or other woman that are built like me ... : Kiss my fat ass."
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quicklist: 6title: Christina Hendrickstext: Christina Hendricks wore a strapless Christian Siriano dress to the Golden Globes in 2010, causing a New York Times fashion critic to write, "You don't put a big girl in a big dress."
The "Mad Men" star's husband, actor Geoffrey Arend, jumped her defense.
"It's so ridiculous," he told People magazine. "She looked so gorgeous."
Hendricks, 38, agreed: "I loved it. I thought I looked gorgeous."
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quicklist: 7title: Kim Kardashiantext: Since Kim Kardashian announced her pregnancy last year (she's due to give birth this summer), tabloids have taken aim at the reality star, 32, even comparing her to a whale.
"I think it's a little bully-ish to call a pregnant woman fat. I mean what do you expect?" she said on "The Tonight Show" in March. "I think it's wrong. I've always been curvy and I've always embraced my curves and I love them and now there's just more to love!"
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