Shannon Purser is speaking out about the difficulties fuller-figured actors face.
The actress, who played Barb in season one of Stranger Things, addressed the need for on-screen representation June 19. "they're not hiring fat actors for iconic fat characters because they want a big name star," Shannon tweeted. "there are almost no fat big name stars because fat actors aren't allowed upward mobility."
The 24-year-old continued, "we aren't allowed upward mobility because the industry sees us as two-dimensional set pieces."
Shannon previously discussed this problem after starring as the lead in the 2018 Netflix movie Sierra Burgess Is a Loser. It was the first time Shannon played a plus-size teen who wasn't just a supporting character. "We have a lot of romantic-comedy heroines that look the same," she told Vanity Fair. "Plus-size women [also] deserve to get the prince and have agency."
"Growing up, if I had had somebody who looked like me get the guy, I would've felt a lot less alone, and more understood," Shannon reflected. "I hope that this movie challenges young people to rethink the way that they look at themselves, and at each other, and learn to embrace authenticity."
At the time, Shannon was optimistic about Hollywood's inclusion of plus-size actors. She shared, "It's slow-going, but it's happening, for sure. I'm seeing a lot of roles written explicitly for plus-size women, which is so cool. Also, [I'm] going out for parts that I think I probably wouldn't have been considered for, like, five years ago."
The actress first received acclaim for her role as Barb in Stranger Things, earning her first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. Since then, she's starred in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Rise and Riverdale, in which she plays Ethel Muggs.