Emily Blunt has apologized after being criticized by fans for ‘fat-shaming’ a waitress in an old chat show clip that resurfaced on Friday.
In a clip from the star’s appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2012, Emily shared that she was recognized at restaurant chain Chilis while filming the movie Looper.
Speaking to Jonathan, Emily said: ‘The girl who served us was huge, you know, I think she got free meals at Chilis.’
As the audience laughed, the host joked, “Nothing wrong with that,” as he responded to Emily’s comment.
In a statement to People, Emily said she was “shocked” when she rewatched the clip.
Statement: Emily Blunt has apologized after being criticized by fans for ‘fat-shaming’ a waitress in an old chat show clip that resurfaced on Friday
Rude: The actress called the waitress ‘huge’ before suggesting she got free meals from the food chain
She said: “I just have to comment on this because my jaw was on the floor watching this clip from 12 years ago.
“I’m shocked that something so insensitive, hurtful and completely unrelated to the story I was trying to tell on a talk show.
“I’ve always considered myself someone who wouldn’t dream of upsetting anyone, so whatever possessed me to say something like that at that moment is unrecognizable to me and whatever I stand for.”
When the clip resurfaced on social media, fans took to Twitter to bash the star as they expressed their displeasure over her offensive comment.
One fan wrote: ‘Emily Blunt being blatantly fatphobic wasn’t on my bingo card for 2023 but here we are.’
Another clearly angrily tweeted: ‘Ugh f**k Emily Blunt was seriously one of my favorite actresses but turns out to be a fatphobic, unfunny mean girl who thinks it’s funny to point out the size of a server when it doesn’t add anything to the story – out of shame.’
A third said: ‘Emily Blunt being fatphobic is so disappointing, I think someone else will bite the dust.’
And a fourth added: ‘Emily Blunt was canceled 12 years after the interview where she was fatphobic. Big murder. I like to see it!’
A long time ago: the star last played in Oppenheimer, more than ten years after the resurfaced clip from 2012
Join in: As the audience laughed, the host joked, “There’s nothing wrong with that,” as he responded to Emily’s derogatory comment
As the segment progressed, it seemed that the anecdote had nothing to do with the size of the waitress, as Emily talked about how she was recognized by the girl.
She continued, “She comes up and says, ‘Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like Emily Blunt?’ and I said, “I heard that yes” and she said, “Are you Emily Blunt?”
After the actress confirmed that she was indeed Emily Blunt, the waitress exclaimed, “What are you guys doing here?”
Emily then told the staff member that she was filming her movie Looper, to which the girl replied, “Looper? You guys just made that up.”
Outrage: Fans are in uproar as they took to Twitter to express their anger over the resurfaced clip
The realization that the waitress’ weight had nothing to do with the story fans posted on Twitter asking, “Why did she even say that?” Not necessary at all.’
Another said: ‘She didn’t have to mention her size, it had nothing to do with what she said.’
Another tweeted: ‘she didn’t need to add that and EVEN IFFFF it mattered to the story… say literally anything but huge bruh’.
Another fan felt let down: ‘She let herself down by making comments like that. You can do better, Emily!’
However, one fan seemed to stand up for the star as they pointed out that this clip was taken over 10 years ago.
‘This was an old story. This happened in 2012, where she did this interview. You’re all seriously chilling. Emily probably doesn’t remember that at all now and has grown a lot since then. Stop digging old dirt.”
Unnecessary: Fans pointed out that the mention of her weight was not relevant to the story