The love tattoos and off-key rendering of the national anthem were nothing compared to the debate bound to brew over Roseanne Barr’s lusty Vanity Fair appearance.
On the December cover, the corpulent comedian overflows her low-cut dress, seemingly squeezing the breath out of husband Tom Arnold. Inside photos show them entwined in mud on a California beach, among other poses.
Some critics call the shots — and Barr — revolting, but is she as offensive to those involved in promoting a positive image for overweight people?
“Roseanne’s a mixed bag,” says Sally Smith of the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance. “Some of her antics and behavior alienate people, but that would be true whether she was fat or thin.”
“I think Americans want role models imbued with only sterling qualities, no matter their size,” says Manhattan psychologist Richard Rowe. Thus, it’s hard to identify with Barr, who left her husband for another man and who uses foul language and graphic hand gestures.
Pat Swift loved the Vanity Fair photos. “It was a total sendup on Madonna,” says Swift, president of Plus Models, an agency that specializes in large-sized models. “If people could get to the point where Roseanne is, totally accepting themselves the way they are, there wouldn’t be any controversy.”
But the fact that Barr stirs up a storm is why Karen Stimson thinks she makes an attractive role model.
“I think it’s fabulous she’s wearing a revealing outfit,” says Stimson, of the Connecticut branch of NAAFA.
Stimson views Barr-backlash as discrimination. “People still have that ‘little woman’ mentality,” she says, “and when you have a big woman with an in-your-face attitude, people feel threatened and they have to strike back.”
