Don’t mention the war.
Or more specifically, don’t mention her body if you find yourself chatting with Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks.
Fairfax journalist Kate Waterhouse learned this the hard way in an off-the-charts awkward interview with Hendricks this week. (On the excruciating-to-watch scale it’s right up there with the Tom Cruise/Peter Overton put-your-manners-back-in moment.)
Who knew the Mad Men star would be so prickly about this particular term.
So what happened? Waterhouse was interviewing Hendricks during the actress’ current visit to Australia to promote Spec Saver glasses and asked the famously curvy actress about how her “fuller figure” inspired other woman.
Cue: Stony silence. (And loads of angry PR people madly making phone calls in the background).
Take a look:
Apparently, off-camera, Hendricks said, “I think calling me full-figured is just rude.”
Wait, is it?
Let’s be real for a moment. Christina Hendricks has a name that’s synonymous with the words ‘hourglass’ and ‘curves.’
She is a refreshing contrast to the cavalcade of same-size-and-shape actresses we see on every red carpet in every country in the world. This is not a bad thing. In fact this is a SUPERB thing, surely.
So by refusing to answer a question referring to her “full figure” is Hendricks being precious? Or is commenting on someone else’s figure just blatantly inappropriate?
What do you think? How would you have reacted if you were Christina Hendricks?
Since the interview was posted on Fairfax websites yesterday, it’s been talked about widely. For example….
Top Comments
I think CH has said several times in the past that she doesn't want to be a 'poster girl' for curvy women, much the same way that Stella was on here awhile back talking about not wanting able-bodied people to use differently-abled people as 'inspiration.' Nobody is there for your inspiration, whether it is to inspire you to accept your figure, or be thankful for what you, or whatever. We're all just people, and I get why it pi**ed CH off.
I got the impression from Christina Hendrick's reaction that there was a list of questions that weren't to be asked in the interview and that questions about her body were on that list. Precious or not, I think that most journalists are aware that there are some topics that celebrities will stare in advance that they won't discuss. If this was the case, maybe it was just a matter of Kate Waterhouse not being properly prepared for the interview?
I also saw the printed version of the interview in today's Herald Sun, which didn't bear a lot of resemblance to what we saw on screen here. Lots of other topics seemed to have been discussed. Is this a shorter edited version of a much longer interview?
Sorry - *state* in advance, not stare.
It's also interesting that photo 7 in the mamamia gallery shows CH in glasses, despite KW saying that she couldn't find any photos online of her in glasses. I just googled Christina Hendricks Glasses and there were plenty of shots of her wearing them in public...