Renée Zellweger speaks out after wearing controversial fat suit in new series

Renée Zellweger has hit back at those who criticised her for wearing a fat suit in new true crime series The Thing About Pam.

The actress, 53, was first under fire last year when pictures of her in the suit on set emerged, leading to accusations of fatphobia. Watch the trailer for The Thing About Pam below:

Zellweger was initially described as having undergone an 'unrecognisable transformation' when she wore the suit and prosthetics for the role.

Now, the actress has spoken to The Sunday Times about the controversy surrounding the suit.

"Look, you want to be respectful and responsible," she said. "There's always a limit to how much you can establish an authentic approximation without being distracting."

This isn't the first time that Zellweger, who played murderer Pam Hupp, has opened up about the fat suit.

She told The Independent: "It was pretty much head to toe. It was prosthetics, it was a [padded] suit, it was the choice of clothing, it was the briskness in her step-step-step, her gait.

"All of those things were really important because all those bits and pieces are what construct the person that we project our own conclusions and presumptions onto."

NBC

The Thing About Pam is a true crime series that follows the story of Pam Hupp's involvement in the murder of her co-worker Betsy Faria.

Betsy was terminally ill with cancer at the time of her death in 2011. Her husband Russ Fraria was initially convicted of the 2011 crime, and Hupp gave evidence at the trail which led to his conviction.

However, new evidence led to this conviction being overturned, and the series, which was released in March, explores Hupp's involvement.

This includes the fact that Hupp was recently named as a then-dying Faria's sole beneficiary before her murder.

She managed to put authorities off the scent through a series of phone calls that gave her strong alibis during the initial investigation.

NBC

The true crime series hasn't just been criticised because of the fat suit, but also because of its portrayal of the incident.

Captain Raymond Floyd, of the St. Charles, Missouri City Police Department, was the first person to interview Russ after his wife's murder.

He said the new show is 'despicable'. "They almost portray it as a black comedy," he said. "And there was nothing funny about that investigation.

"I actually was the initial person that interviewed Russ... the very first day," he told the The Independent. "Russ got hosed – he 100% got hosed."

Topics: TV And Film

Emma Guinness

@guinness_emma