Was Casey Wilson Fired from SNL for Being "Overweight"?

By Cate Sevilla

While we all know that the beauty standards in Hollywood aren’t exactly healthy or realistic, you’d think that the tales of actresses being fired for their weight or dress size would be long gone.

However, new reports of Casey Wilson being fired from SNL for refusing or failing to lose 30lbs over the summer break shows us that perhaps show biz hasn’t changed at all, and is up to its same old bullshitty tricks.

Perez Hilton recently reported that the SNL were bringing on two new female cast members – rumoured to be Jenny Slate and Nasim Pedrad – and now E! Online are saying that while Michaela Watkins has been pretty gracious about being let go to “make room” for yet two more white and attractive female comediens,  the circumstances under which Casey Wilson was let go are anything but pretty.

How can it be that in 2009, female actresses and comedians are losing their jobs for not being a size 4?

Personaly, I never really saw Casey Wilson in action. E! Online say she was already “on thin ice” with SNL as she failed to develop a “hit character on the show “ or “strike a nerve” with audiences. Could this be the actual reason for her departure, and not her weight?

Are we too quick to believe that SNL would dismiss a female cast member for her weight, rather than for her comedic abilities?

It certainly seems to be a likely story, and we’re already all sensitive to female comedians needing to be sexy, as well as funny – and never mind that whole argument about women not even being funny to begin with.

But I have to wonder if the reason I hadn’t heard of Casey Wilson before all this was due to her not having the same “sexy geek” appeal as Tina Fey, or for not being as thin and blonde as Amy Poehler...

Or was it because that she just wasn’t a good fit on SNL and simply isn’t as funny as Poehler and Fey?

POSTED IN: NEWS
Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:00 (GMT+00)
5 Responses
1.

No offense but this girl was my least favorite person on SNL. She was never that funny in her timing etc and again never had a great characther role...SNL does this from time to time and sometimes these cast members just disappear! I seriously doubt it has to do with her weight..looks like someone is just trying to start stuff

Nate
Thu, 10-Sep-2009 13:24 GMT
2.

The cast is so huge, it hardly seems a wonder that 'she failed to develop a “hit character on the show “ or “strike a nerve” with audiences' in the two minutes she might have received per show. It shows the tired format that has driven so many viewers away: they're looking just to develop catch phrases and repeatable characters which they run into the ground. SNL = irrelevant. I wish Wilson the best of luck, which I assume she's finding as a cast member of the hit film Julie & Julia.

K. A. Laity
Thu, 10-Sep-2009 15:41 GMT
3.

SNL is a pretty cut throat environment and now that Tina's gone, it may have gone back to the old days where the dudes run the show.

That being said.. I'm sure her weight may have had something to do with it. Tina Fey famously didn't get on the air until after she lost 30 pounds. It's like the joke from 30 Rock: women on tv need to either lose 30 lbs or gain 70, anything else has no place on TV.

maria
Thu, 10-Sep-2009 16:54 GMT
4.

@Nate -- I'm sure that she wasn't written for because of her weight. If you've ever read anything about the SNL culture (in particular pick up Bunny! Bunny! A Sorta Love Story by Alan Zweibel about his friend Gilda Radner) women, in particular, have to fight tooth and nail to get the writers to write for them.

Things changed a bunch with Tina Fey being on the show, but I'm sure that since she's left that it's reverted back to biz as usual. (And, yes that's completely right, she wasn't on the air until she lost 30lbs, even though she was writing ALL the funniest shit on the show and is/was an amazing improviser.)

Casey Wilson is a really good and funny improviser and sketch writer out of the UCB. She's performed at the Aspen Comedy Festival and received a ton of awards for her improv work -- the question of if she is talented and funny is moot - she ABSOLUTELY is.

Do you know how hard it is to get seen for SNL if you're a girl? Near impossible. That she was seen and cast means she's got massive comedy cred. I have no doubt that her weight was what got her fired. Shame on Lorne -- you f-ing chauvinist pig!

(I can say that now that I don't do improv anymore.)

Kate
Sat, 12-Sep-2009 05:53 GMT
5.

what the hell? all the cast members make me laugh. And casey is not fat. if she is i have not noticed. those next girls have big shoes to fill. done and over.

sam
Sat, 12-Sep-2009 22:05 GMT

Add Comment

Note: Your email address will be verified but will never be published on the site.

If you are a registered user, please Sign In.




The opinions expressed by the author and commenters are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BitchBuzz or any employer or organisation. The aforementioned are not responsible for the accuracy of content published.

social feed

@BitchBuzz: The [Digital] Revolution Will Be Gendered - from @katelaity on BitchBuzz Tech http://t.co/5bkxZo0x
09 Feb @ 10:46 GMT

search



buzz we love

Bitchin' Lifestyle
Vikki Chowney
Bangs and a Bun
Vintage Patisserie
Pop Justice
The Other Woman
Pamflet
Gala Darling
Red Velvet
Shape What's to Come
Bird's Eye View
Gala Darling
Bake & Destroy
Kris Atomic
Mark Johns
Garfunkel & Oates
India Knight
Kate Nash
Erin Gibson
Sarah Lacy
Vegansaurus
The Boss of You
Meantime Brewery
Make and Do with Perri