Allison Tolman calls out TV writers and showrunners for putting weight jokes in their scripts

With pilot season just getting started in Los Angeles, actress Allison Tolman is calling out writers and showrunners for putting weight jokes in their scripts.

The 40-year-old Why Women Kill star took to Twitter on Monday afternoon, revealing in a thread why writers should stop making fun of an actor’s weight in a story.

The thread got over 2.2K retweets and nearly 20K retweets as it started to go viral into Monday evening.

Thread: With pilot season just getting started in Los Angeles, actress Allison Tolman is calling out writers and showrunners for putting weight jokes in their scripts

‘Writers and showrunners- take the jokes about weight out of your scripts. I promise they aren’t funny,’ Tolman began. 

‘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,’ she added.

She went on to add that these, ‘jokes about weight don’t have to just be jokes about a characters body.’  

No joke: 'Writers and showrunners- take the jokes about weight out of your scripts. I promise they aren’t funny,' Tolman began

No joke: ‘Writers and showrunners- take the jokes about weight out of your scripts. I promise they aren’t funny,’ Tolman began

Not jokes: She went on to add that these, 'jokes about weight don’t have to just be jokes about a characters body'

Not jokes: She went on to add that these, ‘jokes about weight don’t have to just be jokes about a characters body’

Tolman added inappropriate jokes can also mention, ‘the numbers on a scale, what someone eats, what size their clothing is, exercise and movement.’

She also called for writers and showrunners, when they’re ‘ready,’ to, ‘begin to wrap your mind around removing body descriptors from your scripts altogether, including character descriptions and the names of minor roles.’

The actress said that doesn’t mean writers shouldn’t use adjectives, but offered some specific examples.

Ready: She also called for writers and showrunners, when they're 'ready,' to, 'begin to wrap your mind around removing body descriptors from your scripts altogether, including character descriptions and the names of minor roles

Ready: She also called for writers and showrunners, when they’re ‘ready,’ to, ‘begin to wrap your mind around removing body descriptors from your scripts altogether, including character descriptions and the names of minor roles

‘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,”‘ she said.

She also said that people who think using these descriptors are ‘complimentary’ are ‘missing the point.’

‘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,’ Tolman said. 

Annoying: '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,"' she said

Annoying: ‘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,”‘ she said

Descriptors: '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,' Tolman said

Descriptors: ‘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,’ Tolman said

She added, ‘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,’ she concluded.

A fan mentioned the new HBO series Somebody Somewhere starring Bridget Everett, adding it was ‘the first I’ve seen where the lead character is a bigger woman and, at least in the first ep, there wasn’t a single mention of her size/clothing/eating/exercise habits. Remarkable and also depressing,’ with Tolman responding, ‘She’s one of the EP’s, makes a big difference.’

Audience: She added, 'The audience only knows the values you assign to different body types if you have characters saying lines about them'

Audience: She added, ‘The audience only knows the values you assign to different body types if you have characters saying lines about them’

Rest: '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,' she concluded

Rest: ‘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,’ she concluded

HBO: A fan mentioned the new HBO series Somebody Somewhere starring Bridget Everett, adding it was 'the first I've seen where the lead character is a bigger woman and, at least in the first ep, there wasn't a single mention of her size/clothing/eating/exercise habits. Remarkable and also depressing'

HBO: A fan mentioned the new HBO series Somebody Somewhere starring Bridget Everett, adding it was ‘the first I’ve seen where the lead character is a bigger woman and, at least in the first ep, there wasn’t a single mention of her size/clothing/eating/exercise habits. Remarkable and also depressing’

Big difference: Tolman responded, 'She’s one of the EP’s, makes a big difference'

Big difference: Tolman responded, ‘She’s one of the EP’s, makes a big difference’

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