Is Cinderella Really That Skinny?
Rumor has it that images for Kenneth Branagh’s new version of Cinderella were edited to make the lead actress, Lily James’ waist look smaller. James is playing none other than the beautiful Cinderella.
Speculations spread across a series of social media networks questioning if her body was digitally manipulated. James’ response was simple; she said her waistline appears extra small due to a corset as well as her naturally thin frame. Respectively, her waist was slimmed down to a tiny 17 inches due to the corset.
At a press event, James said, “In the blue dress, it was designed so that it was really pulled in at the waist. But also, the fact that the skirt’s so big, it’s almost an illusion. It looks way smaller than it is.”
When Branagh was asked about the speculations regarding the pictures, he told HuffPost that James waistline appears so small because of lighting causing a shadow that makes her waist look smaller. He also directs the reasoning of her abnormally small looking figure to ‘natural body physics.’
Director Branagh told HuffPost Live, “The simple truth is we didn’t alter anything,” and “It’s fair enough, though, for people to say whatever they like about it. We’re asking them to go and see it, so they have a perfect right to express an opinion.”
James referred to the speculation as negative and when being interviewed at L.A. Times , he said, “I think it’s all very hypocritical, and they contradict themselves, and they’re drawing more attention to it.”
Oddly enough, in addition to the speculations of Cinderella’s waistline, Prince Charming’s eye color is also under speculation by viewers. The rumors said that Prince Charming, played by Richard Madden, wore blue contact lenses to make his eyes appear bluer.
Branagh also commented on this speculation to Hollywood Life: “He was not wearing blue contact lenses. He has very, very striking blue eyes and when beautifully lit by Haris Zambarloukos, these make for a very strong impact.”
Negative and hypocritical would be two of the best words I could possibly come up with to describe critic’s speculations of the new Cinderella; especially because they’re criticizing someone who’s playing Cinderella, the princess who went from the maid of a step-sister to a beautiful princess. I think that instead of nit picking something such as body image, viewers should be appreciating beauty and encouraging their young children to look up to Cinderella.
With the negative publicity so far, I feel that James will need to speak out on healthy body image, and emphasize that each body is unique and beautiful .
