Melanie Lynskey has a guest starring role on the show The Last of Us. I haven’t watched it yet. I fully intend to, I simply haven’t gotten through the rest of my queue. The fact that Melanie is on the show only fortifies my determination to get it. I love her. I also love her constant beating of the drum about not commenting on her figure. Unfortunately, as much as Melanie continues to exist as a woman doing her job, people find ways to point out the fact that she is not a size two actress. The latest is the ex-Mrs. Peter Brady, Adrianne Curry, who took exception to Melanie on The Last of Us. Only the photo Adrianne used wasn’t from The Last of Us and it appeared as if she hadn’t actually watched the show, both of which Melanie pointed out:
Firstly- this is a photo from my cover shoot for InStyle magazine, not a still from HBO’s The Last Of Us. And I’m playing a person who meticulously planned & executed an overthrow of FEDRA. I am supposed to be SMART, ma’am. I don’t need to be muscly. That’s what henchmen are for pic.twitter.com/YwkmkwUdOm
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 8, 2023
[From Twitter via Pajiba]
I covered that InStyle write up of Melanie and commented on how amazing she looked. So I’ve already diverged from Adrianne’s nonsense. Secondly, as a person who honestly hasn’t seen the show, the term ‘warlord’ in and of itself suggests the person calling the shots, so Adrianne negated her own comment. And lastly, why is she commenting on another woman’s body like this?! It’s mean and gross. WTF?!
Even though Melanie’s response was *chef’s kiss*, she wasn’t finished. And I get it. If some clout chaser was using me like this, I’d say my piece as well. So Melanie went back to Twitter and emptied the rest of the barrel:
Other than getting to work with creative geniuses who I respect and admire (Neil & Craig) the thing that excited me most about doing #TheLastOfUs is that my casting suggested the possibility of a future in which people start listening to the person with the best ideas
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 8, 2023
Not the coolest or the toughest person. The organiser. The person who knows where everything is. The person who is doing the planning. The person who can multitask. The one who’s decisive
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 8, 2023
I was excited at the idea of playing a woman who had, in a desperate and tragic time, jumped into a role she had never planned on having and nobody else had planned on her having, and then she actually got shit done
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 8, 2023
I wanted her to look like she should have a notepad on her at all times. I wanted her to be feminine, and soft-voiced, and all the things that we’ve been told are “weak”. Because honestly, fuck that.
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 8, 2023
I’m so grateful to Craig and Neil for creating a truly new character. Someone I have never seen before. And for trusting me with her. And for letting me be on THE MOST AMAZING SHOW
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 8, 2023
And I’m also grateful because the love and support I receive from you all is so overwhelming and powerful- I feel like we are a community and I feel very seen and loved. Ok rant over and thank you all so very much 💗
— Melanie Lynskey (@melanielynskey) February 8, 2023
I wish Melanie didn’t have to keep saying this, that she wants to play a person who doesn’t have to address her weight. That she wants to show all shapes and sizes can portray all variety of characters. And for heaven’s sake can we stop saying Melanie is large? She’s not waif-like but honestly I, too, would love to see roles for women that had nothing to do with their appearance. So I’m excited to see Melanie in The Last of Us. And I am excited to never have to read anything Adrianne has to say again. Because there was no call for this, on any level. Even if Melanie put Adrianne in her place, this should have never been put out there. Adrianne can go mean-girl with her non-existent fans on TikTok where Dustin on Pajiba said in his brilliant write-up that she’s an anti-trans a-hole. Good riddance.
Photo credit: Instagram, Twitter and Cover images
I wasn’t really interested in the show, but after reading Melanie‘s description of her character, I kind of am! She’s great and good for her for shutting that down (who is this Adrienne person?).
It must be so frustrating to put in decades of excellent work in varying roles and constantly be talked about instead for what your body looks like.
I think she was from ANTM, then went on another reality show with Peter Brady, (that’s how they met) she’s no one,
Same @Lucy! I didn’t think it was my cup of tea, but I’m going to give it a chance specifically because of what Melanie wrote. So – maybe thanks Adrienne? LOL!
Honestly, this show is so well done. I haven’t played the game, but I really love this take on the humanity of people in how they respond to great tragedy. And I haven’t even watched the most recent episode yet.
My issue is that I hate apocalyptic and zombie stuff, but I might be willing to give it a shot.
I totally get that. I wasn’t sure I could watch a post-apocalyptic show at the mo, but this one really is different. So far, at least. It’s about the people, not the “zombies.”
So well done. Episode 3 killed me. Very little zombie action, much more about how humans respond to the situations.
Honestly, me too. I will now add it to my queue.
I’ve seen her in things for years and never knew she was in my age range 😁. But honestly headlines mentioned Adrienne Curry who was a throwback and I became immensely disappointed. Just gross. I’m an avid romance reader and one of my biggest gripes is the lack of female main characters described as average size or plus size just getting on with life and doing. Like we exist yet the fantasy version of reality insists we don’t exist. Melanie is fine in her role. Post-apocalyptic world doesn’t mean heavier set or average set people stop living 😮💨. I actually expect a woman who looks like Melanine to play that part. Adrienne’s reference to Sarah Connor is weaksauce. Sarah Connor in Terminator 1 was soft, quiet, and weepy. She gained muscles in 2 because she knew she was fighting against cyborgs. That’s different story-telling world view and motive from Last of Us. Also, can’t harp on this enough but average size people exist and will continue existing.
I love melanie lynskey, and will watch anything she’s in, she’s amazing! Peter Brady’s ex-wife is so toxic. I think she deleted her account already.
Same. Loved Melanie Lynskey since Heavenly Creatures when she and Kate Winslet were practically teens. Can’t believe how underappreciated she is.
Can’t wait for the second season of Yellowjackets.
And ugh- used to watch the first seasons of ANTM, and i liked her. but, no thanks to all her crap.
GO. GIRL.
love everything she said. refreshing to see a female leader character portrayed this way rather than with often stereotyped “male” leadership traits such as being ripped, loud, physically strong. and i think she has a beautiful hourglass figure.
It’s great she kept going. She had a platform and used it to get these arguments in the record for a new audience.
YES I love it. I haven’t watched it yet but this makes me want to. I want to see a smart capable woman who isn’t a size 0 and isn’t mistaken for a model in another life, you know? and I think Melanie is beautiful anyway (I love her skin lol, not in a weird way!) so why can’t women be beautiful and not extremely skinny without being “plus sized” or whatever?
Anyone who criticizes Melanie Lynskey’s appearance and voice for her role on The Last of Us is completely missing the point. She presents at first as this sweet, Midwestern mom type, and so with that in mind, you underestimate her at your peril. She was great, and I love that she put this little troll in her place.
Also – everyone here should be watching The Last of Us. Melanie’s episode was quite good and ended on a great cliffhanger, but episode 3 with Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett will WRECK you. One of the best TV episodes I’ve ever seen.
@Courtney
I absolutely agree!! She was PERFECT for that role, and The Last of Us has been brilliant! My kid is devoted to the game and its sequel, so he was skeptical, but even he’s been loving it
I’m not sure this lady even watched the show? What a weirdo. Melanie is all class. Also worked on a set with her when she was on Candy and she is funny nice and gorgeous.
I just saw episode 3 last night. It’s one of the most extraordinary things I’ve ever seen on TV. All around brilliance and excellence – acting, writing, direction, filming, everything. It’s going to stay with me for a long time.
Same! I watched it as it aired for the first time, and was so stunned by it I immediately watched it again. Then listened to the podcast where the show runners talked about making it, then watched every interview I could find where Nick and Murray talked about making it.
And speaking of Nick Offerman, I notice that no one was criticizing his body type as being unrealistic post-apocalypse.
THIS.
EXCELLENT point.
Nicely done, Kirsten!
I dropped the walking Dead after the first season because it felt like such a hopeless show to me so I was a bit hesitant to start up Last of Us. However this show is just so much smarter. And the third episode with Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman is so great it actually lives up to all the praise I kept seeing from critics.
Melanie Lynskey is always someone I root for and she is perfectly cast for the role she has on Last of Us. This isn’t a terminator type show at all.
I got burned out by so much Walking Dead so I hear you. Last Of Us is NOT LIKE WD at all. It’s not about Zombies, first of all. And the writing is lightyears better. The acting is, too. Ep 3 is one of the best episodes of television I have ever witnessed in my entire life. The chemistry between all the characters is flawless.
Totally agree. Episode 3 is perfect start to finish, one of the best episodes I’ve also ever seen. Just breathtaking.
Adrianne Curry should’ve just sat there and kept selling her Avon. And kept her mouth shut.
I confess I used to be a huge Adrienne Curry fan and had been following her for years but had to put the mute button on her because she’s changed into some alt-right idiot.
I was so happy when she won America’s Next Top Model season 1 as she was the underdog from Illinois. She wasn’t some bouncy blonde – that person came in second. Then, I followed her to her reality shows, including My Fair Brady where she married Christopher Knight, aka Peter Brady, from the Brady Bunch. He was a toxic mess and they soon divorced.
But I continued to follow her on social media as she was nerd girl and was always at Comic-Con. However, when she married her current husband and moved to the woods of Montana… Her posts began to change. She’s a bigot, practically QAnon. Plus, now she seems to hate other women, trans people, etc. She did not use to be like that, which is why it’s so sad that she’s attacking Melanie. As another poster said, she should just sell her Avon and delete her SM.
I too used to be an Adrienne Curry fan, but you are right, she has morphed into such an alt-right asshole. She actually went through removing her breast implants, and ended up with complications, and having very little breast tissue left. She chronicled her journey and how much it affected her body image. So it really floors me she would come after another women’s body like this!!! WTF. Just gross.
She rubbed me all wrong even in the My Fair Brady days. That show was just watching two a-holes bicker.
And of course she’s already on her “Help- I’m being stalked/harassed/pc mobbed/stanbullied/crazied, etc. because lib chick I targeted for attention clapped back and breathed a word about misogyny” bs. Typical.
@AmyB, do you remember the My Fair Brady episode where Chris introduced Adrienne to Florence Henderson, his TV mom? Florence and Chris were extremely close, and Florence did not like Adrienne and did not want Chris to marry her. Always listen to Mrs. Brady!
@H
Lol, I do recollect that episode – I didn’t watch much of their reality tv show but I saw some episodes from the first season. I really rooted for Adrianne as she moved on from that toxic marriage and chronicled her journey of anti-plastic surgery and growing old gracefully. Really disappointed to see this from her. And now she even refuses to apologize 🙄
Oh, jeez, I didn’t know any of that. I admit to being a complete addict of The Surreal Life, and I followed them to My Fair Brady, but once it was clearly going sideways (seriously, men, marrying much younger women, no matter how hot they are, is not advisable), I stopped paying attention. I had no idea she was married to a MAGA.
I feel so embarrassed saying this because I’m a regular-ass white woman but I have pretty much the exact body of Melanie (I don’t really get openly coded as “overweight” but am certainly well outside the “good” body range), and I feel a THRILL of representation whenever I watch her in anything. I adore her.
And fuck that random woman, especially for using a shot of Melanie as herself and not even the character she was portraying.
When I look at Melanie, I think she looks like a regular woman. Not some skinny actress. Not overweight. Just…normal? She looks great and healthy and if people have problems with that, it says a lot about those toxic people.
@SAS – same. I basically have Melanie Lynskey’s figure too, and it’s so nice to see a regular-sized person get these great TV roles (and put body shaming trolls in their place).
if you look like Melanie Lyansky you are not overweight, you are sexy! go flaunt it! I wish I was her size, she is beautiful! I have also loved her since heavenly creatures.
Why they keep calling this woman big? She is not. She is average and resembles most women in the real world plus what if she was fat /big? She has the right to exist and be just like everyone. She is a great actress and I love her. I did not even think twice or at all about her body… this is really crazy.
I think it must be because she was absolutely TINY during her time on Two and a Half Men, even though that has never been her body type in anything else I’ve ever seen her in. She must have been miserable during that period. I’m so glad she’s made her money and can be in basically anything she wants to now.
Adrienne Curry is mad her career went nowhere. Ghosted by Tyra and ANTM, never got a Cover Girl contract, had a terrible show and marriage with Peter Brady, and has kept herself ugly skinny in hopes of maybe some day landing a post-apocalyptic role, yet this brilliant actress beat her for it. She’s just jealous and bitter and a hater.
Yeah, it sounds like she just felt the need to tear a more successful woman down. Pathetic.
The show is fantastic and she does an amazing job!
Love Melanie-haven’t watched this show yet, will now. Adrianne Curry is and has always been an idiot.
Love, love, love Jason Ritter’s response to Curry.
https://twitter.com/JasonRitter/status/1623528851644223488?cxt=HHwWgMDQzfC494ctAAAA
I’ve enjoyed Jason Ritter’s work for a long time but I’m especially loving his real-life role of Ultimate Wife Guy. That dude knows he won the lottery the day he met her.
I hope this raises her profile and gets her more work
I cannot believe we are still doing this.
Melanie is a ubiquitous but underrated actor and I’m glad to see her landing such a high profile role.
Adrienne is just jealous that she doesn’t have the talent and career that Melanie has.
I first saw Melanie in Ever After and she was such a scene stealer. Love her. And if you haven’t seen Yellowjackets you should! New season comes out next month.
I love Melanie in everything she’s so great in Yellowjackets. I’m so stoked for the new season I can’t wait!! She was amazing in Candy too.
I had no idea that she is almost the same age as me I thought she was younger she looks amazing. I hate the people criticizing her weight; to me she’s perfect.
@Isa, it was Ever After for me too. You just couldn’t take your eyes off Melanie!
Melanie is now on my radar! As for Linda Hamilton, she is a few houses away from me in New Orleans. She’s the most chic looking dog-walker in the neighborhood, and the friendliest. With a mega-watt smile. Seems a similar ease for Jennifer Coolidge, who lives near as well in an adjacent neighborhood. I see her at Miss Lilly’s Vietnamese restaurant. Of course Nic Cage is in town often (he famously lost a French Quarter mansion), and one day he will be eternally when is placed in his pyramid mausoleum he has awaiting him in one of the oldest and most beautiful of our above ground cemeteries. There’s constant film productions going on, and one often sees Hollywood people around here, famous or not. At any rate, I enjoy seeing Linda Hamilton being around, dog walking and smiling her gorgeous smile!
Suddenly, I wish I lived in New Orleans.
Me too!
My mom grew up in the town where Linda and her twin sister are from (Salisbury, MD). She’s always been one of my actress favorites, ever since Beauty and the Beast.
I’m very glad to hear that she’s friendly and happy in New Orleans. I’m going to guess where she is because I rented a condo during the beginning of the pandemic in the Lower Garden District. That had great dog walking in the area. My pup and I loved the entire area.
Awww! I LOVE getting the scoop! New Orleans is one of my favorite cities, and it’s great to hear Linda Hamilton is doing well 😀
I’ve only watched the first two episodes and I’m so hooked.
Also, if muscle daddies who love their daughters are your thing… whew. Even if they aren’t your thing, watch the show. It might awaken something in you.
Adrienne curry using her hot takes to grasp at a 16th minute of fame are a pass for me. I am amazed at how awful she ended up being though.
LMAO!!!! Thanks for the heads up.
Adrienne Curry is a racist alt-right washed up has-been whose only claim to fame is winning a reality show and marrying and then divorcing a man more famous than her. She deleted her Twitter account like the coward she is. People like her can always dish it but can never take the push back.
Adrianne was the first winner of ANTM and she brings it up every chance she gets despite claiming that she “left Hollywood” because of how messed up of a place it was. She’s married and lives in the boonies selling Avon now.
She deleted her Twitter yesterday after all the backlash. She kept doubling down on how she was talking about a fictional character and how it was a poor casting choice and she wasn’t commenting on the actress’ body. But she was and Adrianne is someone who CANNOT admit she is wrong ever based on what I’ve read from her when I used to follow her several years ago.
Who tf is Adrienne to come at Melanie Lynskey?
I’m always excited to see her pop up in a show or movie – she’s such a good actress! Love her speaking out about stereotypes in media, and subverting them, so many viewers probably never even think about that kind of thing.
And today I found out she’s married to Dipper Pines, omg!!!
I haven’t seen the show (yet) but I fully agree with Melanie here. I hope she is feeling beautiful today and beyond. I really appreciate when people/women say these kinds of things, it feels like we are supporting each other, lifting each other up when I hear this typa stuff. It’s like the exact opposite of what the mean girls/naysayers would want. Like you wanted us to jump on the bandwagon to say she’s less than/not pretty, nope we flipped that script!!: Have you met our friend, the gorgeous and talented and inclusive Melanie Lynskey?
I love Melanie in everything she’s in. Anyone shifting focus away from her incredible talent to her weight is nothing but dust in the wind.
That’s exactly the character I can relate to. I’m definitely going to watch now.
Adriana is gatekeeping so hard because all she has going for her is that she is skinny and was once pretty.
The last of Us is really good, Melanie is awesome in it. Also no skinny size 2 is going to be out kicking ass .
Real talk I had to look up Adriana wtf she’s famous for marrying Peter Brady.
Take a tiny seat with your Avon B.
HONK for Melanie. I love her.
Here’s a hot take, Melanie’s character is the leader and the top of the hierarchy. She would have access to better stuff. But, she’s normal looking. She looks like someone who is average who is surviving an apocalypse. We’ve already established in this world that people aren’t starving and food is being produced.(so far).
Hell, I’m happy she’s actually wearing her hair up in a ponytail/updo. I hate how women always have their hair down in shows like this.
Could anyone here help me by explaining how a woman who is 5′ 7″ is considered short? [I’m 5′ 2″.]
Ugh, stop. She needs to stop referring to herself as the nerd queen, or whatever she calls herself. President Laura Roslin would like a word. FFS, she was 3/4 of the way dead throughout BSG, and kicked post-apocalyptic ass, so none of this is a compelling argument from Adrienne Curry.
/isactualnerd
Lol, a muscular hard body is the definition of a luxury body. People living in desperate conditions don’t have time to hit the gym or eat a special diet. You’re too busy surviving to waste time with that shit or even care about it. You perform what labor you need to. You eat what food you can get. A certainn level of fat, in fact, would be advantageous for periods of resource scarcity.
You can look at any impoverished and/or non-industrialized region and see the reality of what that endless stress does to the body. Unless intense starvation is involved, plenty of people will have some softness and fat to them. Open up a history book and look at pictures or drawings of people of all shapes in sizes in the era before mass agriculture.
People just hate the reality that not all bodies can be turned into models because that undermines diet industry capitalism and endless propaganda around thin superiority. There’s a lot of people with slim builds who have happily bought into the idea they worked to get somewhere others didn’t when they really just have a genetic advantage that allowed it more easily.
Adrianne is being an ahole and Melanie has a great point, but lets be honest, her character in the Last of Us isn’t actually the smartest person in the room or the person with the best ideas. She’s not the good guy/amazing leader/brain that you might think she is from all this, lol.
She is a ruthless cold bad person. I get that it’s a horrible world they’re depicting but lets not put her character from the show on a pedestal just because she doesn’t look like the stereotypical (deluded) warlord. She still acts like one, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.
I’ll have you know she murders indiscriminately — big fan of equality! — and frequently — she’s a go getter! — which makes her the biggest #girlboss ever, mmkay?
Nobody’s doing it like she does in the apocalypse!!
All of this x All of this x All of this. Thank you CB and thank you ML! Haven’t watched yet but will soon.
She looks like she’s probably an Australian 14 which is a US 12 I think. So she sits firmly in the ‘average woman’ size. Maybe a little below. Like seriously. In 2018 research showed approx 68% of American women are size14 or over, & although I couldn’t find exact stats pretty much everything I read says likewise for Australia & UK. She gets all this negative shite for being normal weight. Wow.
For the love. ALL that needs to be said about her is she is incredibly talented, impeccable timing and she’s beautiful. Period.
I love this show and its characters, especially the back stories/side stories! The last three episodes have been incredible. Melanie is incredible in it. The body comments are so 1970. Some people have some catching up to do!
I love this show. She’s an amazing actress. I wish I could say I’m surprised a man is criticizing a woman’s weight in a show, but I’m not. People do this crap all the time. While I was watching her act I didn’t FOR ONE SECOND question her appearances!!
Melanie Lynskey is gorgeous and seems to have hit the jackpot (rightfully so) when it comes to marriages. From her interviews and tweets, she has always come across as smart and thoughtful in her life and her craft, and I appreciate what she brings to the conversation.