Casey Wilson Refused To Lose Weight, Fired From SNL?
At least that’s the gossip on E! online. In case you hadn’t heard, two women (Wilson and Michaela Watkins) were fired from the show as two women were hired. (Still no new black comics, though; I love how a show that prides itself on its political satire has exactly 0 black people in its cast at a time when the Obamas are in the White House.) [ETA: I forgot about Kenan Thompson! Sorry, Kenan!] Anyway, here’s the dirt:
Watkins has been vocal, and pretty cheerful, about her exit from SNL, but Casey’s been completely quiet on the matter.
Could it be because of the totally bitchy and sexist way in which she was ousted from the sketch show?
Our inside comedy sources tell us SNL producers told the curvy Casey to lose 30 pounds during the show’s summer hiatus. They pretty much demanded it. And whether Wilson just couldn’t drop the weight or she just only wanted to give her middle finger some exercise, she didn’t drop a damn pound. And that’s when she was axed, we’re told.
The comedian was already on thin ice, since she never really developed a hit character on the show or struck a nerve with audiences during her two-season run. Case was aware she was one of the show’s least popular players—she even made a Funny or Die video about people not finding her funny (which, coincidentally, we find hilarious).But insisting she drop pounds to be another stick-thin star? How pathetically prehistoric could Lorne Michaels & Co. possibly get? Casey was pretty much the only female castmember the show’s had in years who wasn’t a size 6 or smaller (a pregnant Amy Poehler notwithstanding). Whereas SNL’s been famous for highlighting obese men—John Belushi, Chris Farley, Horatio Sanz, Bobby Moynihan, to name a few.
Did Will Ferrell have to look good in a bikini for people to laugh at him? Hell no! So why should the women be treated any differently?
I couldn’t have said it better myself. She was certainly not my favorite cast member (she never really carved out a niche for herself on the show, and pales in comparison to someone like Kristin Wiig) but her weight shouldn’t have been a factor in her firing, and if it was, it’s appalling. Here’s the Funny or Die video that Wilson made a while ago, mocking mean comments made about her on the internet.
Thanks to my beloved Annie for the link!
[ETA Casey Wilson is denying this story. Now I wonder where the rumor came from in the first place.]
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Celebrities, Fatism, Humor, Politics, TV, Video
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She’s not funny, I’m sorry, but she definitely don’t have to lose any weight. Looking at her, I think this is the first time I’ve seen someone who looks like me in media! I’m a ‘small fat’ person but even finding images of women who look like me is still a pleasant surprise.
oops, my web addy should be fixed this time. >_<
That’s fat?!!
Jesus.
SNL sucks! It has sucked for years, and, other than some of the political sketches, is completely irrelevant. I can’t believe it’s still on the air.
She’s better off without those idiots!!!!
While the cast still lacks diversity, the SNL cast does have a black comic, Kenan Thompson.
I don’t get the Funny or Die video… but it’s nice that a woman of her size (whether it meets your definition of “fat” or not) was on SNL. Not so nice about being fired.
For some random irony: at first I misread that as “Carnie Wilson.” Oops.
I’m not entirely sure how they decide what sketches are actually performed and who’s in them, but I feel like one reason why she never had any hit characters was that she didn’t seem to be on screen that much. Maybe she just didn’t come up with any good ideas, which would be a valid reason to fire her. On the other hand, maybe they purposely didn’t put her in because of her weight thereby giving themselves a good excuse to get rid of her.
Also, not that it should matter, but as far as I can tell she didn’t gain any weight while on the show, so I don’t get why it would suddenly be a problem.
I do sort of wonder though if it’s somewhat of a publicity issue on her part – if she was fired for legitimate reasons, saying it was because of her weight is a decent way to get media attention and public sympathy.
This supposedly isn’t true.
Frankly It was more important for Ferrell to look bad in a bikini. It is normal to laugh at men for looking bad when scantily clad. Ferrell in a speedo would be funnier than fully clothed because he didn’t look good in it.
Right; Casey Wilson wasn’t any less funny than anyone else on SNL and, IMO, was a perfectly fine comedic actress for what she was called on to do. Bobby Moynihan? Kenan Thompson? Seth Meyers? Actually, I didn’t even like Amy Poehler, with her steady fare of crass characters who also all seemed to be channeling Granny Clampett to one degree or another. As tiffabee at Eat A Cheeseburger says today, “And what was more, Casey Wilson’s body wasn’t used as the butt of ‘fat’ jokes. She didn’t play the ‘fat girl’. [I noticed this and really appreciated it, too. —Lu.] She simply played the various roles that any other cast member would be given. It was refreshing to see…. regardless of the true reason she was fired, I still find it quite sad that we no longer get to watch her on SNL, not only because I enjoyed her as an actress but also because it was really nice to be able to watch a woman on television who looked a little bit more like me.â€
If she was truly fired because of her weight, which from watching her on the video, I don’t see how that is an issue, SNL is just another pathetic excuse for a tv show. I mean, really, think about it. How many American women are a size 14. This show is so not representative of the average American. But hey it pays to play to the politically correct culture of fat is bad, stick thin is good.
Keanan Thompson has been a cast member for several years and as far as I know, still is.
At any rate, being fired because she’s (Casey Wilson, not Thompson, heh) fat is bullshit and SNL should be ashamed of themselves for firing her over that and instead of over her actual offense: not being funny (of course, this could go for about 95% of the cast, IMO).
In a wonderous FA moment during an interview with Teri Gross on “Fresh Air,” Will Ferrell talked about showing his body a lot.
He said that he considers himself an athlete – he runs, lifts weights, etc. But he doesn’t look like he does and so people think he’s flabby via couch surfing.
He said he celebrates it and understands the revulsion and turns it on people for a laugh.
Well now who’s supposed to play me in an SNL sketch?
Well, it’s happening everywhere. The head of Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Toby Cosgrove was on the front page of the Plain Dealer stating that he would not hire obese people if he could legally deny them jobs.
http://tinyurl.com/kw95yk
I think she’s hilarious!
For what it’s worth, SNL is saying that’s not why she was fired. I certainly hope that’s the case.
I liked seeing her on tv, I thought she was bigger than the average person on tv, but I never really thought of her as fat.
This is absurd. The woman has an amazing body. Men tuned in to see her magnificent hooterage!
She’s not funny. Frankly, neither is SNL, but she’s *really* not funny. Keeping her on despite this would be just as offensive as the shit Tyra would pull on “Top Model” where she included girls BECAUSE they were “plus-sized”.
And, um, this might be an awkward time to ask, but does anyone know if that last period should have been before the quotation mark?
Well I hope it isn’t true. Frankly I could believe she was fired just for not being funny enough… so hopefully that’s the case.
Jackee, periods and commas do go inside the quotes in American English. British English uses different rules, but if you’re in the U.S., that comma should go inside the quotes.
Punctuation trivia! Woo!
I was going to say that I’ll never watch SNL again, but I forgot that I already don’t because it sucks.
This is really absurd. She looks not fat at all and besides she is sexy not funny…
Ok, she isn’t fat. But she’s not that funny either. ALthough that could be said for half of the cast. What about that blonde chick that does almost nothing and is some famous dude’s daughter? has she been fired yet, because she really sucks.
I’m not into kristin wig either, her kathy lee is alright but she’s just plain annoying.
I miss Tina and Amy.
“Did Will Ferrell have to look good in a bikini for people to laugh at him? ”
No, but Will Ferrell is actually funny. ¿Comprende?
is that even possible to lose a job from being overweight? I watched SNL all the time, but this is new to me.
I can’t tell you how glad I was when I saw the new intro for SNL and Casey was not on it.
SHE WAS NOT FUNNY! Sure, blame the poor writing, but there were certain times she could have made it funny and just, oh, so wasn’t.
Has nothing to do with being curvy, IMO. She just didn’t have the SNL vibe.