Actress Jessica Chastain was quoted this week as saying that gaining 15 pounds for The Help was “torture.” 

I don’t want to jump all over a comment that may have been taken out of context, but it upset me to see that in print.

For the record, she looks gorgeous with the extra few pounds. I can understand why readers were ticked off by her proclamation that gaining the weight was so awful—she got paid to add 15 pounds to her frame, and she looks fantastic in the still from the movie.

As a vegan, she found that eating lots of estrogen-rich soy was the best way to add curves to her thin frame. I imagine that microwaving and drinking cartons of soy ice cream would be traumatic for anyone not used to doing so, but “torture?”

I don’t think that’s the most important thing though. My question is why actresses (and actors) are so often asked to put on weight when it’s easy to fake extra pounds with costumes and makeup?

Also, why was such a thin actress chosen for a character who’s supposed to resemble Marylin Monroe? I understand that sometimes an actress is just the right person for a part, and I think Jessica Chastain is very talented, but it seems sometimes that Hollywood just loves to put actors through this—perhaps so the media has something to write about?There’s something predatory about it.

Haha look at me stating the obvious and calling Hollywood predatory. It just irks me to see a woman’s weight scrutinized—this is just the most recent example. Why do we care?

What do you think?