Kirstie Alley Defends "Circus Fat" Comment: I Can Call Myself Whatever I Want!

Actress was on Rachael Ray's daytime talk show

By Lily Harrison Apr 08, 2014 10:27 PMTags
Rachael, Kirstie AlleyRACHAEL

Kirstie Alley is coming to her own defense after receiving backlash for her comment that she wasn't "circus fat" in a new advertisement with Jenny Craig.

The former Fat Actress star appeared on Rachael Ray's daytime talk show and told her, "So, on my ad, I say I'm not fat-fat, I'm not circus fat, I've just gained 30 pounds. Well first of all, I'm talking about myself, and second of all, I grew up in an era—pioneer days—I grew up in an era where my dad would take me to the fair and to the circus and they actually had fat ladies in the circus."

She added, "Everybody in the audience was so thin that they would bring out this fat lady and would like, point and laugh. Which is hideous, I get it. But, I am talking about myself. So anyway, I think I can call myself whatever I want to call myself."

Ray then added her two cents on the matter, saying, "I think maybe we all get a little oversensitive about stuff like that. You're literally being self-deprecating. You can say whatever you want."

"I can say whatever I want and I do say things like that. I mean, I say them to myself when I look in the mirror," Alley told the audience.

Just yesterday, the actress announced that she had renewed her partnership with the weight loss company after several years on hiatus.

Jenny Craig CEO Monty Sharma said in a statement that when the 63-year-old star reached out, "We welcomed her with open arms."