While writing and executive producing her hit show, Grey's Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes found herself at the center of her own personal drama. She was sitting on an airplane, unable to buckle her seatbelt. It wouldn't fit, and it was a wake-up call for the producer. She wanted to live a healthier lifestyle, so over the course of roughly 10 years, she lost more than 130 pounds.
Even though she achieved her goals, Rhimes is not completely satisfied with the results of her weight loss. Why? Because people will not stop telling her how great she looksnow.
"I discovered that NOW people saw me as a PERSON," the Scandal creator wrote in her newsletter. "What the hell did they see me as before? ... When I was fat, I wasn't a PERSON to these people. Like I had been an Invisible Woman who suddenly materialized in front of them. Poof! There I am. Thin and ready for a chat."
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Suddenly, everywhere Rhimes went, she was lavished with attention, all focused entirely on her appearance. The contrast made her all too aware of how image-driven people were.
"Women I barely knew gushed. And I mean GUSHED ... And men? They spoke to me. THEY SPOKE TO ME. Like stood and had long conversations with me about things. It was disconcerting ... But even more disconcerting was that all these people suddenly felt completely comfortable talking to me about my body," she added.
People said things like "wow, you are so hot now" or that they were "proud of [her]." While their intentions may have been pure, phrases like that made Rhimes feel like she was less of a person when she was heavier. As if she mattered more to them and was suddenly more desirable now that she's thin. In her newsletter, Rhimes set the record straight.
"Being thinner doesn't make you a different person. It just makes you thinner," she wrote.
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