Kirstie Alley's Latest Scandal

Could anything be blown more out of proportion? I watched the Oprah episode of Alley’s interview when she announced to the world she hadn’t had sex in four years. It was a wonderful candid look into the life of Kirstie Alley, the now plus size vixen, from Cheers days. The poor woman (and no I don’t say that because she’s fat). She happens to honestly answer Oprah’s questions about sex and next thing you know the tabloids run wild with it. Hello? Is this where they get their story lines these days? Oprah breaks the news and they steal and twist it. If only we all could be so honest about our sexuality.
The first time I saw Kirstie Alley I didn’t think about her weight. The consecutive times I saw her I didn’t think about her weight. What really leaves a lasting impression is her glorious hair, raspy voice and sincere smile. When Alley smiles you can’t help but smile back. I know, nobody wants to be remembered for their smile. But really when you meet someone for the first time, isn’t it the eyes and smile you make a connection with?
Why I feel sorry for Kirstie Alley: She’s beautiful, she’s sexy, she’s talented, and she has to fight to work in an industry hell bent on discovering the next size 0. The world is full of all shapes and sizes yet Hollywood and beyond chooses to focus on the talented 2%. Why can’t the media portray all women in a positive light? SO she hasn’t had sex for four years. There are lots of people who haven’t. So she’s fat. According to stats so is the majority of the population. Just because she may be overweight doesn’t mean she hasn’t had a satisfying and fulfilling life. Just because she’s overweight is no excuse to be rude, can’t we just be nice? Lay off the poor woman already! I guess nice doesn’t sell in the world today. How sad is that?
Alley’s superstardom career started late. She was already popular with Trekies when she portrayed Saavik in The Wrath of Khan but her career didn’t really blossom until her 30’s when she hit it big with the TV comedy Cheers as Rebecca Howe. After a successful run on TV she hit the movies with the equally sexy John Travolta for a series of movies about talking babies, Look Who’s Talking. Despite popular thinking she hasn’t been far from the limelight consistently appearing either in movies or on television ever since. Most recently “Profoundly Normal”.
This time she’s back and she’s not hiding anything. “Fat Actress” is the new love child of Alley. It follows around a “fat” actress as she tries to gain employment in the acting industry. The six-episode series is to appear on Showtime but here’s hoping the rest of the world will be able to pick it up.
In the spring, How To Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life will hit the bookstores. Written by Alley it is supposed to be a candid look at our “obsession with fat, food, love, sex, beauty, and weight loss” from Kirstie’s humorous perspective. I look forward to checking it out.
Personally, I hope the “Fat Actress” series is a huge success for Ms. Alley if only to show the industry you can be overweight and successfully carry a fan base. Three cheers to Kirstie Alley for sticking it out there. Health and happiness woman (with chocolate on the side)!
Originally published 12/5/2004 at Large & Lovely, BellaOnline.