Amy Schumer slams ‘fat shamers’ as she defends Barbie casting on Instagram

The comedian said she is “very honoured” to be considered to play “an important and evolving icon”
Generous: Amy Schumer delighted a group of bartenders
Mike Windle/Getty
Emma Powell7 December 2016
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Amy Schumer has slammed those who ‘fat shamed’ her and accused her of being the wrong choice to play Barbie in a live action film.

Schumer, 35, said she is “very honoured” to be considered to play “an important and evolving icon”.

The comedian said she is “strong and proud” of who she is and reached out to her critics to offer her “deepest sympathy” and to thank them for “making it so evident that I am a great choice”.

Alongside a picture of herself in a black swimsuit on Instagram she wrote: “Is it fat shaming if you know you're not fat and have zero shame in your game? I don't think so. I am strong and proud of how I live my life and say what I mean and fight for what I believe in and I have a blast doing it with the people I love.”

Schumer – who referred to herself as a “great friend, sister, daughter […] girlfriend [and] bad*** comic” – told her followers to take a stand against bullies.

“Anyone who has ever been bullied or felt bad about yourself I am out there fighting for you, for us,” she said. “And I want you to fight for yourself too! We need to laugh at the haters and sympathize with them.

“They can scream as loud as they want. We can't hear them because we are getting s*** done. I am proud to lead by example.”

Schumer shared the post after being nominated for two Grammy Awards, for her audiobook of The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo and her Live At The Apollo performance.

She wrote: “Very very honoured to be nominated for 2 Grammys and to be considered to play an important and evolving icon.”

Schumer’s critics accused toy brand Mattel of “ruining [Barbie’s] image by letting Schumer be Barbie” after it was reported that the actress will star as the iconic doll.

Barbie Dolls 2016

1/7

Follow @StandardEnts or like us on Facebook for more entertainment news.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in