Allison Tolman urges TV writers to "take the jokes about weight out of your scripts"

TVLine

"I promise they aren’t funny. And even if they were, they won’t hold up well. And even if they did, they’re unkind-either to your characters and actors or someone in your audience or crew. It’s not worth it," says the veteran Fargo and Why Women Kill actress in a lengthy Twitter thread posted Tuesday afternoon. "Jokes about weight don’t have to just be jokes about a characters body," she tweeted, adding: "And when you’re ready, begin to wrap your mind around removing body descriptors from your scripts altogether, including character descriptions and the names of minor roles. I’m not saying you shouldn’t use adjectives. But please don’t say 'Linda- the main character’s cousin, thin and witty' unless there’s an actual reason Linda needs to be thin. And please don’t say 'Fat Lady In Theater' when you mean 'Annoying Lady In Theater'. Oh! And also, people think it’s okay if they’re using descriptors for small bodies, because they’re considered complimentary. Like, you’re auditioning for 'Skinny Intern', congratulations! But do you see THAT IS THE EXACT POINT AND SURELY YOU UNDERSTAND HOW WEIRD THAT IS. The audience only knows the values you assign to different body types if you have characters saying lines about them. But the rest of your script? That’s your crew, writers room, everyone in the office, executives, creative partners- all the people helping you make your show."