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Chrissy Metz Talks About Her Contract-Mandated Weight Loss for This Is Us

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In a new interview with TVLine, This Is Us actress Chrissy Metz shared that she has a mandatory weight-loss clause in her contract with the show. A central part of her character Kate’s narrative arc is her struggle to take better care of herself and lose weight, even saying at one point, “Even when I’m not thinking about weight, I’m thinking about weight.” So, it’s an issue, and Kate’s journey to becoming her best self is going to be manifested often in a seesaw battle to lose weight. That means Metz will have to lose weight, too, and the actress feels positively about the motivation her job will provide to care for herself. “In our contract, it did state that that would be a part of it, to lose the weight in the trajectory of the character as she comes to find herself,” explained Metz. “That was a win-win for me. Because it’s one thing to try to do it on your own. But as human beings, it’s an ego thing: We’re more likely to do something for someone else.”

Metz was also careful to reassure viewers that her choice to commit to the role, and its contract stipulations, was not meant to sell out “the big girls” and was not motivated by an external pressure to slim down. “I just have to be very clear,” she told TVLine. “Whether or not I lose weight or stay the same, it’s purely a choice of mine for health. Not because I think that plus size, curvy, voluptuous, big bodies aren’t attractive — because I think they’re awesome and sexy.”

Chrissy Metz on Contract-Mandated Weight Loss