Lynskey, nominated for an Emmy thanks to her stunning performance in “Yellowjackets,” has been open about the criticisms of her physique onscreen. While Lynskey has slammed the backlash, she opened up about what it means to be a woman in Hollywood. “I was friends with Brittany Murphy, and the way she viewed herself was always really heartbreaking to me — the things she felt she had to change to be a successful actor,” Lynskey told InStyle for a cover story. “She was perfect just as she was, but people were trying to cast her as, like, ‘the fat one,’ because when she was a very young teenager, her cheeks were a little bit round.”
Lynskey explained, “People tell you that you’re a particular thing, and it’s very hard to fight back against.” Murphy’s body was the subject of quips in “Clueless,” and as she underwent a drastic transformation, audiences publicly wonder if she was healthy or not. Murphy denied having an eating disorder, but recent HBO Max documentary “What Happened, Brittany Murphy?” implied Murphy struggled with one. Murphy eventually died of a heart attack at age 32. Almost two decades later, and Lynskey hopes Hollywood can normalize all body types. “I’m trying to just say to myself, ‘OK, you’re normalizing this, and hopefully more women will come along who look like you, and people won’t feel like they have to say things like that,’ because there is kind of a backhanded compliment,” Lynskey said. “Sometimes, I get tired of hearing about my body, even when it is positive, I just, you know, feel like I need a break from thinking about it and hearing about it and I think all women feel that way.” And Lynskey credited real-life husband Jason Ritter (who could potentially be her “Yellowjackets” co-star at some point…) for always supporting her. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
