Amy Schumer Gets Candid About Her Struggles After Critics Call Her 'Puffier Than Normal'
“A woman doesn’t need any excuse for her physical appearance and owes no explanation.”
Tinseltown / Shutterstock; AnnaHang / CanvaPro Comedian and actor Amy Schumer has spent her entire life battling criticism about her body. She’s practically built her Hollywood career on “think-piece films” about nontraditional appearance.
However, her career isn’t an invitation for criticism and she’s not shy in letting people know.
Amy Schumer got candid about her struggles with endometriosis after critics pointed out her ‘puffier face’ following a Jimmy Fallon appearance.
Just two days after her appearance on "The Tonight Show," Schumer took to Instagram to share the graphic for her show’s new season, reminding fans to rush over to Hulu that same night for its premiere.
However, her caption didn’t end there as she sarcastically sent appreciation to everyone who provided “input about [her] face” following her interview.
“You’re right,” she says. “It's puffier than normal right now. There are some medical and hormonal things going on in my world right now.” Schumer went on to say, “I’ve enjoyed feedback and deliberation about my appearance, as all women do, for almost 20 years. And you’re right, it is puffier than normal right now. I have endometriosis.”
Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which tissue grows in the pelvic cavity outside the uterus resulting in extreme pain and even infertility. Especially during menstrual cycles, people with endometriosis often experience heavy bleeding, bloating and weight fluctuations, fatigue, depression and anxiety, and extreme pelvic pain.
“I wanted to take the opportunity to advocate for self-love and acceptance of the skin you’re in,” Schumer wrote.
Viewers noticed that Fallon’s social media comments were intentionally turned off following Schumer’s appearance on the show.
Viewers seemed to think Schumer’s recent post was a direct response to the comment section under Fallon’s clip from The Tonight Show’s TikTok page. The hateful rhetoric was intense, considering Fallon’s team had the comments turned off almost immediately following the post.
As Schumer jokingly talked about backup dancers for her comedy set and the excitement of her show’s premiere, hateful comments seemed to spread like wildfire on social media.
Each critic, hate comment, and video posted about Schumer's appearance in the past 24 hours has only piggy-backed off the ones before. What once started as an attack on her appearance snowballed into an attack on her character.
Schumer’s humor and grace surrounding discussions of weight, womanhood, and illness have cultivated a safe haven for many in our shame-driven society.
Schumer’s Hollywood career might be rooted in comedy, but the truth is she’s opened up conversations in the industry not many were willing to previously entertain. She’s created a space for people to feel safe and seen in their identity and appearance.
“I’m not going to apologize for who I am, and I’m going to actually love the skin that I’m in,” Schumer said in her 2015 Glamour "Women of the Year” speech.
“I’m not going to be striving for some other version of myself.”
Since then, she’s used several platforms to get vulnerable about her appearance and the harmful nature of the industry.
“Is it fat shaming if you know you’re not fat and have zero shame in your game?” Schumer wrote in an Instagram post from 2016.
“I am strong and proud of how I live my life… what’s the shame? It’s all an illusion.”
The truth is, despite open conversation and vulnerability from Schumer, the stigma of living in a bigger body is more prevalent than ever.
More than 40% of adults, across a range of sizes, have experienced “weight stigma” at some point, with many suffering from “weight-based” bias and discrimination, psychological distress, and extremely harmful self-destructive behaviors as a result.
Despite its pervasiveness, Schumer’s candor has at least gotten more people talking about inclusivity and body shaming, something that’s not necessarily true of illnesses like endometriosis.
Despite being found in 10% of women, there’s not a culture of acceptance, community, or discussion — especially online — for people to engage with.
Having people like Schumer, with a large platform already tailored to women, speaking on her experience is a great first step in cultivating a healthy, less-stigmatized, community for people to share their struggles within.
Many online creators speculated about the ‘real reason’ Fallon’s comments were turned off — and it’s not the hateful comments about Schumer’s appearance.
While Schumer’s response to hate opened up more vulnerable discussions about endometriosis and the struggles of weight-based hate, there’s still an ongoing debate. One that has everything to do with her character, and supposedly, nothing to do with her appearance.
“Some people are dragging [Schumer] in the comments based on her appearance,” TikTok commentator @nataliethehero shared in a video, “but a lot are dragging her because she’s one of the main celebrities who was ‘spreading misinformation and hate’ about Palestinians.”
On October 7, Schumer made her first Instagram post about the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, one that seemed relatively generic compared to more recent graphics from her page.
Her ongoing posts throughout the conflict have garnered the attention of thousands, including the likes of Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., who seemed disappointed by Schumer’s stance amid the tension and fear-fueled conflict.
“Many celebrities who have posted about the conflict have received criticism online from people who either blast them for not saying enough, or for sharing what they believe is the ‘wrong’ perspective,” Kalhan Rosenblatt and Kat Tenbarge from NBC News reported. “[Schumer], who is Jewish, has tied her identity to many of her posts.”
While many simply criticize Schumer’s opinions on the humanitarian crisis, others use it as a leverage point to attack her weight, appearance, and womanhood, creating an even more toxic space for people to honestly discuss the ongoing conflict.
Photo: Jaguar PS / Shutterstock
Whatever the motivations, however, the bottom line is bullying someone about their appearance is not only intolerable, but it's also ignorant.
If you disagree with someone's opinion, have an open and productive conversation with them, or better yet, simply scroll by. Spewing hate serves no purpose.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a news and entertainment writer at YourTango focusing on pop culture analysis and human interest stories.