Quotes About Stigma

When I was with Geffen Records, I weighed almost 400 pounds. The label told me that I had a great voice but wasn't marketable having a weight image.

Because of how I looked, there was definitely a prejudice against me. People didn't think I could play. I could see why: I weighed about eight stone and was six foot bleeding seven.

As an actor, whether you look good or you don't, it's still about what you look like: Whether you are heavy enough to play this part or thin enough to play that part. The fact of the matter is, you can add a little weight with some extra padding, but you can't shave it off.

People said that I had liposuction surgery, but you tell me how can a man of 230 kgs lose weight only with a prick of a needle.

I'm clean and sober for over a year and no one seems to care! They're like, 'Oh, her dramatic weight gain.' So, stop making fun of me!

I don't like how I have to always be judged for my weight - I hate that.

Almost every woman I have spoken to about pregnancy has a story about her doctor giving her a hard time about her weight. Later in my pregnancy it felt like all of my time with my doctor was focused on how fat I was getting - so fat!

I had spent my entire career not wanting to talk about weight, not wanting to deal with it, wanting to be an actor first.

I've been on both sides: the victim and the villain. I was the victimised model, and everything from my weight to my fertility was held up for discussion. And then I was the person that could garner some kind of positive outcome, by taking on the role of vice chairman of the British Fashion Council and becoming an activist of body image.

I have always been mainstream. It's so weird, because I don't see it as something negative at all. So many people see it as something negative.

I didn't learn about depression or anxiety at school. So when I had to go to my parents to say 'I need help, I need to go to therapy,' I felt like this weird, messed up kid. And I wasn't, but I felt that way.

I didn't want people to know that I was an artist. I was ashamed. I thought artists were weird, crazy people, you know. So I always kind of hid the fact that I was an artist.

I was looked at as weird, odd, not fitting in with the Hollywood crowd.

I did start out quiet, and I found out you can change a person's life by simply saying, 'Hey,' or, 'How was your day?' Not everybody gets that opportunity with the way society views you or how you look or the way you dress or how you interact. You hear the weird cliches: socially awkward. I think we're all socially awkward.

The whole thing for me is that I did 'Full House' and 'America's Funniest Home Videos,' and I look like a dentist, and I'm a dad. Being known as a dirty comedian turned into this weird thing. It's people's image of me.

There's no doubt that prog rock has an image problem: many musicians hate the label, and too many people associate it with 10-minute drum solos and the weirder bits of JRR Tolkien.

Hollywood constantly wants to label you and type you into a certain category, 'Oh he's a comedy guy,' or the weirdo character guy or the villain.

If women have young children, they are one man away from welfare.

Too many people feel that where you start out dictates where you should end up. I was on welfare and just shy of 19 when my first daughter was born, but I was encouraged to take advantage of my ability and drive and remained in school.

America doesn't like to hear about things like welfare. 'Don't talk about that. We don't like what it did to people!' Yeah, but it happened.

When I saw the letter of acceptance for Snap - the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, popularly known as food stamps - it was a moment of gratitude, and brief catharsis and relief. Still, I knew it wasn't a socially acceptable means to feed my family with. I saw the memes friends posted, chastising people on welfare.

This resounding cry of 'welfare to work' enrages me because something like 75% or 80% of people who are on government assistance are already working.

The myth that people with epilepsy swallow their tongues is very injurious. When I had seizures without my roommates present, I would often wake up with my gums bleeding, my teeth hurting or my jaw aching. Often, well-intentioned people, believing I would choke on my tongue, tried to force open my clenched jaw to put in a hard object.

There's a book called 'You're Not a Stranger Here' by Adam Haslett - short stories, a lot of them are about mental illness and gay people - that classic combination. But they're really well-written, really powerful. It's pretty good.