Melanie Lynskey reveals she was body shamed on the set of the Coyote Ugly

Melanie Lynskey has opened up about how she and other actresses were body shamed on the set of Coyote Ugly, recalling how she starved herself to be a size four for the 2000 movie. 

The 45-year-old actress reflected on her experience filming the cult classic in a joint interview with her Yellowjackets co-stars Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci for a cover story featured in The Hollywood Reporter. 

‘All the girls had this regimen they had to go on. It was ridiculous. I was already starving myself and as thin as I could possibly be for this body, and I was still a [size] four,’ she said of the pressure to lose weight. 

‘I was already starving myself and as thin as I could possibly be for this body, and I was still a [size] four,’ she told The Hollywood Reporter of playing Gloria in the cult classic (pictured) 

Lynskey played Gloria, ‘the best friend from Jersey,’ in the film, which stars Piper Perabo as Violet Sanford, an aspiring songwriter who moves to New York City and gets a job at a women-run bar. 

The New Zealand native detailed the harsh criticism she faced behind the scenes, including how she was treated by the film’s original costume designer. 

‘[There were] already people putting a lot of Spanx on me in wardrobe fittings and being very disappointed when they saw me, the costume designer being like, “Nobody told me there would be girls like you,”‘ she said. 

‘Really intense feedback about my physicality, my body, people doing my makeup and being like, “I’m just going to help you out by giving you a bit more of a jawline and stuff.” Just the feedback was constantly like, “You’re not beautiful. You’re not beautiful.”‘

Lynskey noted that the film’s lead, Piper Perabo (left), faced even more scrutiny when it came to her body, appearance, and what she was eating

Lynskey (pictured at the Coyote Ugly premiere in 2000) recalled how she was put in Spanx and the movie’s original costume designer told her: ‘Nobody told me there would be girls like you’

Lynskey noted that Perabo faced even more scrutiny as the film’s lead, recalling ‘the way people were talking about her body, talking about her appearance, focusing on what she was eating.’ 

The Don’t Look Up star later clarified her comments on Twitter, explaining that she was not referring to the costume designer who is credited on Coyote Ugly.  

‘The costume designer who initially worked on Coyote Ugly left for some reason, & a lovely kind woman named Marlene Stewart took over and she was AWESOME. The first person was mean, the person credited was not,’ she tweeted. 

Lynskey added that while she has been criticized by makeup artists in the past, this did not happen on the set of Coyote Ugly.  

Lynskey reflected on the experience during a joint cover interview with her Yellowjackets co-stars Tawny Cypress, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci

Lynskey later clarified her comments on Twitter, saying she was not referring to the costume designer and makeup artists who were credited on Coyote Ugly 

‘My answer was kind of a jumble — I had experiences with makeup artists offering to help my face look better but that did not happen on Coyote Ugly,’ she explained. ‘The hair and makeup team were amazing and so kind and among the best I’ve ever worked with.’ 

Earlier this year, Lynskey (pictured in Yellowjackets) revealed that a member of the production team on the show made comments about her weight and asked her ‘what she planned to do’

Earlier this year, Lynskey shared that she had a similar experience while filming Yellowjackets, saying a member of the production team questioned her about how she was planning to lose weight before filming. 

‘They were asking me, “What do you plan to do? I’m sure the producers will get you a trainer. They’d love to help you with this,”‘ she told Rolling Stone.

Lynskey noted that she was supported by co-stars, with Lewis going as far as to pen a letter to the producers about the comments she had received.

‘It was really important to me for [Shauna] to not ever comment on [her] body, to not have me putting a dress on and being like, “I wish I looked a bit better,”‘ she explained. 

‘I did find it important that this character is just comfortable and sexual and not thinking or talking about it, because I want women to be able to watch it and be like, “Wow, she looks like me and nobody’s saying she’s the fat one.”

‘That representation is important.’

Since the premiere of Yellowjackets at the end of last year, Lynskey has faced a barrage of social media comments attacking her body and appearance. 

Lynskey and her husband, Jason Ritter (pictured), have both clapped back at body shamers on Twitter following the premiere of Yellowjackets late last year  

In late January, the actress slammed online trolls who make unsolicited comments about her weight under the guise of concern for her well-being 

The next day, Ritter took to Twitter to post a scathing comment in support of his wife 

In late January, the actress clapped at online trolls who criticized her figure while pretending to care about her health. 

‘The story of my life since Yellowjackets premiered. Most egregious are the “I care about her health!!” people…b***h you don’t see me on my Peleton [sic]!’ she wrote in response to a now-deleted tweet.

‘You don’t see me running through the park with my child. Skinny does not always equal healthy,’ she added.

Lynskey’s husband, Jason Ritter, took to Twitter the next day to defend her. The couple welcomed their first child together in late 2018. 

‘If anyone has any further unsolicited comments about *anybody* else’s body, they can feel free to write them in permanent ink onto their own foreheads and swan dive directly into the sun,’ Ritter wrote, retweeting his wife’s original post.