Rebel Wilson has gained weight but the response is what we should be worried about

Rebel Wilson has revealed she’s gained weight but the response to her admission has exposed something toxic that will seemingly never change.

OPINION

In January, Rebel Wilson announced that she’d gained 14kg on social media and said she felt “bad” about it.

Wilson’s entitled to her feelings, but the fact it is something she feels guilt over speaks to the gross culture we have surrounding women’s weight.

The messaging is pretty simple: if you’re smaller, that is something to be proud of and something you’ll be complimented on.

If you’re bigger, that should be something you’re working towards changing and apologising for.

The Aussie actor blamed it on the stress of working on her directorial debut, The Deb, and her upcoming memoir.

Rebel Wilson is directing her first movie. Picture: Media Mode

She’s previously been open about her weight loss. Picture: rebelwilson/Instagram

She said the demands of work had stopped her from being able to focus on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

There’s a high chance that Wilson decided to address her weight because she knew there’d be plenty of scrutiny around it.

When Wilson lost weight in 2020, she called it her ‘Year of Health’ and did interviews where she discussed having a more protein-based diet and learning to take care of herself.

Wilson made it clear that she was happy to discuss shedding the kilos, and why wouldn’t she be? She was being hit with so much positive reinforcement.

You don’t have to be famous to have experienced the rush of compliments that come with losing weight.

If a woman gets smaller, whether she’s a movie star or a supermarket worker, it will be applauded.

She’s a hugely successful actor. Picture: Media Mode

She’s also a new mum. Picture: rebelwilson/Instagram

In Wilson’s case, the compliments almost seemed never-ending; she was suddenly everywhere, and everyone was commenting on her smaller body.

She’d turn up to a red carpet event, and people would applaud her for being suddenly smaller.

A photo of her would be posted online and the reaction would be people saying how great she looked now.

The comedic actor would have got less fanfare if she won an Oscar or started dating a Hemsworth.

Psychologist Carly Dober said that the compliments that Wilson got for losing weight are not healthy messaging.

“The implicit and explicit messaging is that you are only as important as whatever arbitrary weight or dress size that you now are, and that any other traits outside of what you have physically do not matter,” she said. “It also sends the message that now you are good enough and accepted by society.”

Ms Dober said that often, this sets up women to fail because bodies often change, and if a woman’s worth starts to hinge on her weight, things can fall apart quickly.

“This often leads to significant mental health challenges, low self-esteem, and a lot of time and energy wasted being focused on one’s appearance.”

Rebel was praised for losing weight. Picture: rebelwilson/Instagram

She always looks great. Picture: David Clark

Wilson has now gained some weight back, which is normal; plenty of figures have been thrown around over the years to suggest that people rarely manage to keep the weight off.

In 2022, the National Library of Medicine did research that found only 20 per cent of Americans keep the weight off that they’ve lost.

A recent study by CPR First Aid found that losing weight is the most Googled personal goal in Australia after healthy eating and drinking more water.

There’s a national obsession with weight.

The way we talk about women’s weight needs to change. Picture: rebelwilson/Instagram

The more we praise and judge celebrities for gaining and losing weight, the more we tell all women that their worth and attractiveness are explicitly linked to how much they weigh.

Wilson feeling bad about gaining weight makes sense because the world makes all women feel bad about gaining weight.

I don’t think we will ever shut up about Wilson’s weight because if a woman’s weight fluctuates, it becomes a talking point her entire career.

Selena Gomez, Oprah Winfrey, Jessica Simpson and Demi Lovato are strong examples of that but at the very least, I think we can recognise how messed up it is.

Wilson’s got nothing to feel bad about, but we do because we’ve made another woman feel bad for no bloody reason.