Daisy May Cooper feared 10-stone weight loss trolling could cost her acting roles
'I can't go near my phone'Daisy May Cooper says online abuse after her 10-stone weight loss left her fearing she could miss out on acting roles.
Speaking to The Independent, she described being shamed for wanting to feel healthier.
The most hurtful messages, she said, suggested her comedy had suffered because her body had changed. That prompted fears that casting teams would no longer consider her for the same kinds of roles.
She questioned whether people would stop seeing her as someone who could play a bigger, funny character.
“That made me really panic actually. I thought, ‘[Bleep]. Is that going to affect me casting-wise?’ Will I be scratched off people’s lists when they go, ‘She can’t be the funny big one’? It’s so mad that as women we even have to think about that,” she said.
Daisy May Cooper steps away from her phone following weight loss backlash
Daisy said the negativity had led her to give up owning a phone. Her PA now manages her Instagram account.
“People are so [bleep]ing horrible and mean and say such horrible things, I just can’t even go near it [her phone],” she said.
Her changed appearance also created a very different challenge for Am I Being Unreasonable?
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show, she explained how the second series was meant to follow immediately after the first.
Only 30 seconds separate the two stories. Between filming, however, Daisy had lost around 10 stone and had lip filler.
She said she had asked the BBC for a disclaimer after seeing the rushes. That would warn viewers about her lips and ask them not to judge the change.
Daisy May Cooper on her health
Daisy, 40, went from a size 24 to a size 10 after following the very low-carbohydrate Keto diet.
She said she previously experienced chest pains and struggled to catch her breath while climbing stairs.
However, she has also made clear that she would not recommend the diet, despite losing weight with it.
She told the Daily Mail she had developed kidney stones, describing a diet dominated by meat and cheese.
“The pressure on women to lose weight – at any cost – it’s insane. It’s horrendous,” she said.
Daisy also addressed body positivity on the BBC podcast How To Be In The Spotlight. She described being miserable at her biggest and said she had struggled with food addiction.
“I think everybody should be happy with their body. But I wasn’t,” she admitted.
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