"Fat" Monica in Friends isn't even fat

[TallGirl24]

As per title. Rewatching all the old Friends episodes. How in the name of the wee donkey was this a recurring joke? She's basically normal sized but beside some very slim costars. I know it was a different time but it is so jarring to watch now.

I find it so terribly boring to be offended by something made 30 years ago. Oh no there were jokes about Monica being fat (and she was. She’s in a full on fat suit) that wouldn’t fly now. It’s not being made now. What do you want, a time machine? There are so many threads and tweets etc about how dreadful Friends is. Just don’t watch it. It’s a sitcom from the 90s, not the curriculum.

Personally, the words fat or obese are just descriptors and not offensive.
It's the sneering and ridicule that goes alongside the descriptive words that are offensive.

I’m pretty sure in her autobiography that Geri said she had an eating disorder. Mel C too. The pressure they were under was insane. The press called people ‘lollipop heads’ as they were so small. Then we had Heat magazine and others with their ‘circle of shame’, circling cellulite and physical imperfections in unflattering photos. Disgraceful.

Nah Monica WAS fat. I watched Bridget Jones last night and was shocked that I believed all my life that she was overweight. Renee Zellweger gained 3 stones for the role and I remember press discussing her “gross and dangerous sacrifice to her art” but my goodness!! She is absolutely normal.

She’s definitely ‘fat’.

Not fat? She wore a fat suit that made her look massive.

It wasn't an easy time for female celebrities.. I haven't read Geri's autobiography but I vaguely remember her saying in maybe Heat or Ok! she ate cake from a bin in George Michael's house...typical binge purge cycle, I've done it in less salubrious places so it had a ring of truth about it & of course "Sporty" had the moniker so there's a lot of pressure.. The Olsen Twins.. so many when you think back

Sure remember there was even the line (sorry spoiler alert) when that prick Daniel was hiding the nude "American" in his bathroom & she goes "I thought you said she was thin" about Bridget? Had a rewatch myself lately, I still love it

Oh come on, she's definitely overweight in that episode! 90s or 2020s.

To be honest, I do think Bridget Jones on the film is a bit overweight; plump. It may be normal now, but it wasn't seen as normal in the 90s and I'd still prefer to be slimmer than that. But maybe it's because she's quite small in height. I'm tall and would look overweight. And I guess my body type is informed by what I grew up with- the cindy Crawford/ Pam Anderson look.

I've dragged dh into the argument now. Interestingly, he thinks bridget Jones looks totally normal. And that my other points of reference weren't that thin either.
" but Pamela Anderson wasn't thin. She had boobs."
" but they weren't real. "
"How am I supposed to know that?"

I'm coming up the size she is in the "Fat Monica" skits. I can assure you it is fat. I had to run a few meters today to get a bus and was shocked at being slightly out of breath. Did a lot of housework today and my knees ache from the strain of carrying my bulk about. I CANNOT WAIT until the children are old / well enough that I can start working out again. Ditto for the price of food coming down (if it ever does).

She was fat and the point of it was because nothing she did/said/wore etc was right by her mothers standards. The weight was a storyline for something for her to pick on. I’m sure there was an episode where Monica mentions her mother never praised her for the weight loss and still always finds something negative to say. Most teens in that situation probably would over eat for comfort. It was cruel at times and the comments weren’t nice, but Friends is old and things change.
Bridget jones looked fine to me, but by todays standards not being a size 0 somehow means you have obese BMI.

Exactly. Friends finished 21 years ago! I still watch it, and still find it funny, but it's not indicative of today's mindset on lot of things.

I have no idea how reliable or biased this source is, but i imagine it was a report on these 2024 stats that inspired the figures: www.einpresswire.com/article/740930058/new-data-suggests-almost-half-of-women-in-the-u-k-are-plus-size

Yes, her size I the fat suit is... fat.

The others' jokes aren't very nice, but that's a bit like complaining the people on Sienfeld were jerks, they weren't supposed to be nice..

That's really interesting... anecdotally yeah I see larger people around & about but also conversely gym memberships have gone through the roof over here, people seem to be moving more, maybe it's not even about weight but fitness? I know I can't run but my OH can fly around a pitch for hours.. very different body shapes

Edit to say on the surface I look "healthier" but nothing could be further from the truth

How depressing, a third are size 20 or bigger?! I wonder if people are getting fatter partly because we can no longer mention fatness.

And Fat Monica was/is definitely fat.

I adore Pam. ❤️

Me too @Princessconsuelabananahammock9

That was the point? She channelled her food obsession into cooking rather than eating.

She was indeed fat. It’s just that now that size is basically the average so looks “normal”. This doesn’t make it healthy.

What a vile thing to say. Vile.

Oh OK. Luckily my husband finds my glasses incredibly sexy for some reason 😂

People were able to lose weight before medication you know! It's all only calories in, calories out.

Your perception is distorted.

Her character was fat, very overweight.

It is normalised now because many people are overweight.

She had chins and wore a scarf skirt.