'Yellowjackets' Star Melanie Lynskey Is Ready to Retire the Very Public Conversation About Her Weight

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Melanie Lynskey has been open and honest about discussing weight and how Hollywood perceives women’s sizes. However, it’s something that the Yellowjackets star has started to feel “complicated” about — and we don’t blame her. 

In a frank portrait with The New York Times, the 45-year-old actress wants to be tackling juicy roles without every conversation revolving around her weight. “I very much want to be onscreen representing an interesting person who’s not paying attention to what her tummy looks like,” she explained. “If there were more people who look like me, then I wouldn’t have to talk about it as much.” Lynskey shouldn’t have to be one of a few women representing different body shapes and sizes on television because it’s a tiresome burden for those carrying the message. 

The body-shaming has followed her throughout her career, especially in the early days as a struggling actress which she found “very demoralizing” and “difficult.” It created an inner dialogue in her head that was filled with negative talk, and she knew she had to rewrite her story. “It sort of stripped me of that confidence that I had. I was shy in a lot of ways. I was filled with all kinds of self-doubt like most young women are, but there was something innate where I didn’t really question myself,” she told The Los Angeles Times‘ The Envelope in 2022. “And then I got here, and it made me really just be like, ‘Oh, gosh, I guess I am not what they’re looking for.'”

So while it’s tough to stop the narrative on social media, it’s likely going to be a conversation she quits having with the media. Lynskey has a right to put up boundaries because her acting career is so much more than a number on a scale.

Before you go, click here for more celebrities who’ve spoken out about being body-shamed.