Why is The Whale being accused of being 'fatphobic'?

Minor spoilers.

I saw it a few days ago, thought the performances were great, especially Fraser who lives up to the hype. And Chau I think deserves some recognition, even Morton in her one scene. Even if it left me curiously unmoved/unaffected compared to any other Aronofsky film (besides Noah which I never finished), like yes, it's objectively sad, but I wasn't crying or shaken by it. But still well-directed, and proved Aronofsky could adapt a play without it being overly stagey.

But I never saw it as 'fatphobic' that it's being accused of. Is it because of the fat suit? It didn't feel exploitative, or made Charlie out to be some joke. He was definitely a punching bag for most of the characters, but he had a great heart, and was kind and empathetic, but obviously in a lot of pain and suffering. I didn't see it as painting him in a hateful way, just a frank depiction of addiction and a slow suicide. Like the binging scene was absolutely accurate and painful to watch. As someone who has dealt with weight issues (not any more) who used to binge and purge, etc. I never was offended by the portrayal. If they had cast an actual morbidly obese actor to play the role would it still be getting the hate? Or is this jut a case of the 'woke' crowd getting overly sensitive again? Or am I totally wrong and insensitive ?

Submitted January 21, 2023 at 01:50AM by atclubsilencio https://ift.tt/a4eEQIv