Tom Cruise’s co-star in Top Gun: Maverick, Monica Barbaro had to face outrageous demands in the industry. She refused to follow a weird advise.
Actors face multiple outrageous demands and requests throughout their day, and this is especially true for actresses. Hollywood is infamous for its unachievable beauty standards, to maintain which artists undergo numerous changes.
However, there are some who simply refuse to listen to others’ opinions about their bodies. Monica Barbaro was once asked to alter a major aspect of her face which appalled her. Maintaining her calm, the Top Gun: Maverick actress fought against the toxic trend of demanding bodily changes from female artists.
When the actress was asked to trim her…what?
Instances of Hollywood actors being asked to change a part of their body or facial structure are not rare for the industry. The entertainment field has been time and again criticized for its toxic beauty standards which are simply unachievable.
But examples of popular stars fighting against abnormal requests serve as a source of inspiration for others who suffer through the same insecurities. In a similar instance, Monica Barbaro narrated a shocking incident at Entertainment Weekly‘s Breaking Big panel.
There’s just a lot of opinions and you just kind of have to filter through what works for you and not. I remembered this the other day, the weirdest advice I ever got was the very first commercial thing I ever shot.
Talking about receiving unsolicited advice about aspects of her appearance, The Cathedral actress said there were too many. To back the statement she recalled a bizarre experience when someone gave her weird advice.
There was a woman doing my makeup, and she told me I had really long eyelashes, and I should probably trim them. I didn’t take it like that. I mean, I was just like, ‘Oh, okay.
The woman doing her makeup boldly pointed out the actress’s long eyelashes and then asked her to trim them. This event shocked the Top Gun: Maverick actress who at the time didn’t respond much.
And then in my mind I was like, ‘I’m not going to do that.’ You could be told to do crazy s— like cut all your eyelashes off.
Later on, the incident provoked her to think deeply about the subject of borderline body-shaming in the industry. She advised other women to speak up and follow their instincts, even in the face of seemingly harmless requests.
When well-known women fought back
There are countless examples of the same scenario being repeated with several others in Tinseltown. Even popular actresses and artists like Lady Gaga, Amy Schumer, and many more had to face instances of body shaming.
The Bad Romance singer went through severe online bullying for her costume during the 2017 Super Bowl performance. Even though the event was immensely popular, some couldn’t help but criticize the artist’s ‘unfit’ body and advised her to avoid crop tops (via BBC).
“I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I’m proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too.
This did not deter the House of Gucci star who clapped back at the negativity by spreading a message of body positivity online. Schumer too had dealt with attempts of body shaming with admirable grace and her unique wit.
These celebrities refused to stand back at the attempt made by others to disgrace or deter them. Cases of subtle or casual critique of someone’s body have become too normal and should be questioned and stopped.