Richard Curtis regrets "chubby" jokes in Love Actually
Love Actually may be a Christmas classic, but not all of it holds up. Director Richard Curtis has admitted that he regrets the fat jokes he included in the film.
Martine McCutcheon's character Natalie is referred to as 'plumpy' by her father and was dumped by her boyfriend for having "thighs the size of tree trunks", while the Prime Minister's aide (played by Screw's Nina Sosanya) calls her "chubby" with "a sizeable arse".
Looking back while on stage with his daughter Scarlett at the Cheltenham Literature Festival (via The Independent), Richard said: "I remember how shocked I was five years ago when Scarlett said to me, 'You can never use the word fat again'.
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"And, wow, you were right. In my generation, calling someone 'chubby'... in Love Actually, there are endless jokes about that.
"I think I was behind the curve and those jokes aren’t any longer funny. I don't feel I was malicious at the time but I feel I was unobservant and not as clever as I should have been."
Scarlett pointed out the criticism Curtis' films have received in recent years, from the lack of people of colour in Notting Hill, Bridget Jones being referred to as overweight when she wasn't, and the writing of female characters across multiple films.
She said that she herself has called him out on these things before.
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"I wish I'd been ahead of the curve," Richard added.
"Because I came from a very un-diverse school and bunch of [Oxford] university friends, I think that I've hung on, on the diversity issue, to the feeling that I wouldn't know how to write those parts. I think I was just sort of stupid and wrong about that.
"I just don't know. I feel as though me, my casting director, my producers, just didn't think about it, just didn't look outwards enough."
Last year, Curtis said that the lack of diversity in the film made him feel "uncomfortable and a bit stupid".
Love Actually is not currently free on any subscription services, but can be bought or rented.
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