Soap and hygiene company Dove has taken a moral stand against <a href="https://vt.co/entertainment/oscars-2023-brendan-frasers-sons-say-theyre-unbelievably-proud-of-their-dad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brendan Fraser</a>'s The Whale for using a fat suit instead of hiring an obese man to play the role. In the 2022 motion picture - that recently won him the prestigious <a href="https://vt.co/news/brendan-fraser-wins-best-actor-at-the-2023-academy-awards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Best Actor award</a> at the Oscars - the 54-year-old star plays a morbidly obese father named Charlie whose confined to a wheelchair and is trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. To play the titular character, the actor underwent a grueling physical transformation that involved prosthetics and spending several hours every day in a weighty 300-pound suit. While fans rejoiced with Fraser over his big night and his major comeback back to Hollywood, several others couldn't help but share their outrage after the movie won an Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling - and Dove was there to back them. <img class="wp-image-1263200653 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/2M5PGJY-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1923" />[[imagecaption|| Extensive prosthetics were used to make Brendan Fraser appear obese in The Whale. Credit: FlixPix / Alamy]] According to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/dove-soap-brand-slams-oscar-winning-film-whale-using-fat-suit-want-better-representation">Fox News</a>, a disgruntled tweeter - that has since gone private on the platform - blasted the movie, writing: "So disappointing that The Whale won the Oscar for best hair and makeup. "Fat suits are harmful - they are not your opportunity to win awards. Our identity is not your costume. Cast fat actors to play fat characters. #TheWhale #fatphobia #fatsuit #Oscars," they added. The soapmakers endorsed the user's message and responded: "Stop giving fat suits awards ‼️ We want better representation in Hollywood." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Dove/status/1635401854678073345]] Dove wasn't the only one to criticize The Whale’s Oscar-winning performance as one user also stated: "The Oscar for best makeup going to the construction of a fat suit on the whale is blatantly disrespectful. and to blast this specific image of a fake fat body on display behind the award is inconceivable." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/izzivw/status/1635122866554568705]] Another remarked: "I don’t appreciate that the makeup team who created a fat suit just won an Oscar and that is because we need to have better stories with fat actors and not thinner actors in fat suits." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TheoGermaine/status/1635088194311180288]] Meanwhile, several others on the social media platform found the billion-dollar company's complaint in calling for overweight people to play overweight characters in movies unjust. One user wrote: "The entire field of prosthetic makeup is devoted to changing how people’s bodies look. I agree that fat suits are often used to make fun of fat people, but fat suits are not the problem. The problem is the intention behind the fat suit, and I think The Whale did it tastefully." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/ryancbeard/status/1635913628934352899]] Another added: "I know Austin Butler was the favorite and he was a great Elvis, but Brendan Fraser’s performance in “The Whale” was objectively some of the best acting I’ve seen in a long time. Acting like he won because he wore a fat suit is so embarrassing. Give credit where credit’s due." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BritMartinez/status/1635850254904860675]] The Mummy actor previously opened up about the impact of wearing a fat suit in an appearance on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8osWTsEuaM">The Graham Norton Show</a>, explaining that it was "appropriately heavy and that really made the experience of playing the part". "It also let me know that to be a person that size, you really have to be very strong, physically and emotionally. And I grew to appreciate that by having played this part," he added. <img class="wp-image-1263200655 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/2PC32RG-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1654" />[[imagecaption|| Brendan Fraser won an Oscar for the role. Credit: UPI / Alamy]] Fraser also revealed to Freddie Prinze Jr in an <a href="https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/brendan-fraser-and-freddie-prinze-jr-on-trauma-and-transformation">interview</a> that he drew inspiration from his <a href="https://vt.co/entertainment/brendan-fraser-gives-special-shout-out-to-son-griffin-who-has-autism-in-oscars-speech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">autistic son Griffin</a>'s experiences for his role as Charlie in the film. "He just turned 20. He's a big kid, he's 6-foot-5. He’s got big hands and feet, a big body. I understand intimately what it is to be close to a person who lives with obesity," he stated. <h6>Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy</h6>

Beauty brand Dove slams Brendan Fraser's 'The Whale' for using a fat suit rather than casting obese actor

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