Chrissy Metz Says She’s Not Contractually Obligated To Lose Weight For This Is Us

Chrissy Metz is walking back her previous claim that she is contractually obligated to lose weigh for her role on This Is Us. Speaking to People at KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball at Los Angeles’ Staples Center, Metz said, "It wasn’t mandated in the contract, and I probably — if I ever said the word contract, I didn’t mean it in that way." "I was pitched that the trajectory of Kate is that she’s going to lose weight. That is who and what’s going on," Metz clarified. While this means that the showrunners and execs aren't placing contractual obligations on her body, we're still not 100% on board with her character's storyline idealizing thinness as something normal or aspirational. But it is a relief that Kate is a normal person in the story and not constantly surrounded by jokes referencing her weight and old sitcom tropes about plus-sized people. Metz called the public's focus on her weight following the comments and her debut on the show "weird." She prevously told Refinery29 that as a visible plus-sized woman, she does feel the need to represent a wide swath of people. "I feel a sense of responsibility to represent actors, plus-size actors, plus-size women, or people who are struggling with their weight," Metz said. "I have that experience, and I really want to do it justice. You know, it's one thing to struggle with your weight here and there, but for me, it's been since I literally was a child, since I was a little girl. I get it. I get it as me, Chrissy, and then Kate, as a character."