Brendan Fraser defends 'The Whale' following 'fat phobic' allegations

The Whale star Brendan Fraser has spoken in support of Darren Aronofsky’s psychological drama following criticism.

Soon after its release The Whale became the subject of contentious debate for perpetuating stereotypes about obesity.

"I respect those who don’t see eye to eye with the aims of this film," Fraser told the LA Times.

"I don’t agree with them because I know that there’s no ill intent. I know I want to know if I — me, Brendan — have done any harm. But the answer I got from the [Obesity Action Coalition] was, 'Keep doing what you’re doing.' We made the movie we wanted to make, and we made it correctly. And I stand by that."

The Whale follows Charlie(Brendan Fraser), a 600-pound, reclusive English teacher desperate to repair his relationship with his daughter. 

"Putting an actor in a costume and apparatus to emulate weight gain for the character has, in years, cut the corner on authenticity," he said.

"It's normally the silhouette of a costume that's worn by a fairly athletic actor and it's in service of a cheap joke or to vilify a character."

Fraser insists, he approached his role in The Whale with "skill, care and preparation."

"It's evident to me that the way that we speak about one another with regard to obesity has to change because it's the last domain of accepted bigotry and prejudice," he said. "It's time to retire that, so long as we're doing so much and making such good progress in so many areas of our culture that I think that it is hopefully the last one we can tick off the box."

The Whale was released in the US on December 9, 2022, and is currently in theatres.