Rebel Wilson Was Told To Remain The 'Funny, Fat Girl' Before Year Of Health

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In early 2020, Rebel Wilson shared her plans to embark on a "year of health." Though the Pitch Perfect actress was excited about her upcoming journey, she now admits that not everyone in her inner circle was thrilled by the idea.

“I got a lot of pushback from my own team actually, here in Hollywood, when I said ‘Okay, I’m going to do this year of health, I feel like I’m really gonna physically transform and change my life,’” Wilson told the BBC. “And they were like, ‘Why? Why would you wanna do that?’ Because I was earning millions of dollars being the funny fat girl and being that person.”

She went on to say that, although she was confident and loved herself before losing weight, she knew she had issues with emotional eating. “Like I did not need a tub of ice cream every night. That was me kind of numbing emotions using food, which wasn’t the healthiest thing,” she explained. “I think it was dealing with not being a natural performer, and having to perform every day. And that pressure and internal stress to be able to perform like that.”

She also reflected on society's obsession with women's bodies. “It’s fascinating. Why are people so obsessed with women, in particular, about their looks?” she questioned. “I know what it’s like to be a woman who is essentially invisible to most people because of not being seen as traditionally beautiful or whatever. It’s crazy to try to fit that. It’s just better to be the healthiest version.”

This isn't the first time Wilson has candidly discussed her health publicly. During a Q&A on Instagram earlier this year, Wilson was asked why she decided to lose weight. “That is such a massive question, but I’m going to try to answer it for you,” she began. “It first started when I was looking into fertility stuff and the doctor was like, ‘Well, you’d have a much better chance if you were healthier.’”

Wilson admitted that her doctor’s comments “offended” her as she felt “pretty healthy" already. “That’s kind of what started it, that if I lost some excess weight that it would give me a better chance for freezing eggs and having the eggs be better quality," she continued. "It wasn’t even really myself, it was more thinking of a future mini-me, really.”

“Everybody’s journey is different, and it’s not a race or competition,” she reminded her followers. “I’ve always been a bit of a late developer. I started acting when I was turning 19, which is quite late. And when I came to America as an actress, I was almost 30, which again, is quite late. So I try not to compare myself to other people.”

Wilson previously shared how walking became an important part of her exercise routine during her year of health. “The one biggest thing is just walking,” she told Extra. "I got all these high-tech tests done on me during my year of health. They said that walking was actually the best way for me to lose unnecessary body fat. I would often go on little diets and things and try to lose a few pounds here and there. This is the first time I haven’t gained any weight back.”

Wilson believes things were different this time around because she looked at the full picture of her health as opposed to only wanting to lose weight. “I think because I approached it from all areas… the biggest thing that I haven’t ever worked on was the emotional side, what I suffered from, I guess, was classical emotional eating," she revealed. "So I really worked on that side.”


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