The trope surrounding the “funny fat friend” has long existed in Hollywood. It’s a trope that has forced many actors to be placed in a box, due to their physical appearance. Rebel Wilson is one entertainer who knows all too well what it’s like being pigeonholed into the “funny fat friend” trope after her experience in the Pitch Perfect franchise. Since the end of the film franchise in 2017, Wilson has dropped a significant amount of weight. Here’s a look at why Wilson’s Pitch Perfect contract prevented her from embarking on her health journey sooner.
Rebel Wilson rose to fame with the ‘Pitch Perfect’ franchise
In 2012, Wilson became an overnight sensation, starring in the musical comedy Pitch Perfect as the character Fat Amy. Wilson’s character was just one member of the Barden Bellas acapella group. Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, and Anna Camp portrayed other key Bellas. According to IMDb, the 2012 film was widely successful, grossing over $115,000,000 on just a $17,000,000 budget.
The original film was quickly followed up with a 2015 sequel film Pitch Perfect 2. The 2015 film grossed an impressive $287,000,000 on just a $29,000,000 budget. The third film, Pitch Perfect 3, was released in 2017. Over the five-year period, Wilson maintained her role of Fat Amy in all three films.
Producers dissuaded Rebel Wilson from losing weight
Since the franchise’s end, Wilson shared how portraying Fat Amy interfered with her desire to live a healthier lifestyle. On the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper, Wilson discussed how her Pitch Perfect contract hurt her. According to Wilson, it stated she could not gain or lose more than 10 pounds while under contract with the franchise.
Despite not being able to make significant changes to her physical appearance, the Bridesmaids star desperately wanted to start living a healthier lifestyle. According to Eating Well, Wilson got serious about her commitment to living a healthier life in 2020. Wilson publicly proclaimed that 2020 would be her “year of health,” and the entertainer wasn’t joking. From 2020 to 2022, Wilson dropped 77 pounds by changing her eating habits and focusing on moving her body more.
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Rebel Wilson gets candid about living a healthier and happier life
Wilson has been quite candid about her weight loss and lifestyle changes over the past few years, including the reasons behind her desire to change her habits. According to Women’s Health Magazine, one of the primary reasons that Wilson set out to embark on a “year of health” was due to her fertility. After consulting with a fertility doctor in 2019 about harvesting and freezing her eggs, Wilson was told the process would have a much higher rate of being successful if she was able to maintain a healthier weight first.
Of course, this was not what the Cats actor had wanted to hear when she walked into the facility. She told People, “I was taken aback. I thought, ‘Oh God, this guy’s so rude.’ He was right. I was carrying around a lot of excess weight. It’s almost like I didn’t think of my own needs. I thought of a future child’s needs, that really inspired me to get healthier.”
The hard work and lifestyle changes that Wilson made definitely paid off. Not only was she able to drop nearly 80 pounds, but the entertainer was also able to successfully harvest her eggs. In November 2022, Wilson and her girlfriend, Ramona Agruma, welcomed a little girl into the world via a surrogate. According to People, the 43-year-old gave her daughter the name Royce Lillian Elizabeth Wilson.
While the journey has been full of ups and downs since the release of Pitch Perfect over a decade ago, Wilson has achieved many of her life goals and has inspired many of her fans along the way.
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