Melanie Lynskey has recalled the time her Yellowjackets co-stars supported her when she was body-shamed on set.
The Showtime series – starring Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, Christina Ricci and Tawny Cypress – has proved to be a huge hit, with its season one finale airing over the weekend.
Yellowjackets follows a high school girls football team who survive a plane crash in the wilderness. The series chronicles the story of how they survived. It also flashes forward to the women they are today and the secrets that they share.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Lynskey (who has previously starred in Don’t Look Up and Heavenly Creatures) opened up about the time she was body-shamed by a member of the show’s production team.
“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,’” Lynskey, who plays the adult version of Shauna, recalled.
The actor said that her three co-stars – Lewis, Ricci, and Cypress – wrote a letter to the producers about the incident on her behalf.
Lynskey continued: “It was really important to me for [Shauna] to not ever comment on my body, to not have me putting a dress on and being like, ‘I wish I looked a bit better.’
“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 to watch it and be like, ‘Wow, she looks like me and nobody’s saying she’s the fat one.’ That representation is important.”
In the series, her character has a sexual relationship with a younger man (played by Peter Gadiot).
The 44-year-old went on to say that she had seen some viewers online question whether he would be attracted to her.
“I’m just like, ‘Wow, really? That’s where people’s heads are at, that the most important thing is being thin or young?’” Lynskey said.
Yellowjackets is available to watch on Sky.
