Renee Zellweger addresses criticism for wearing a fat suit in new true crime series

Renee Zellweger has fired back at critics after facing backlash for wearing a fat suit in her NBC crime series The Thing About Pam. 

The Bridget Jones's Diary star said there’s a ‘limit’ to portraying someone as ‘accurately’ as possible.

She told The Sunday Times: “Look, you want to be respectful and responsible. 

While speaking to Entertainment Tonight, she previously said: “I think, especially in the case of telling this story, it was really important to as closely resemble Pam Hupp as we possibly could, because she seems so familiar, she seems like someone that we recognise, and we know."

Earlier this year, the Dazed and Confused actor copped intense heat after photos of her portraying the murderer went viral, with many slamming it as ‘fatphobic’.

Social commentator Sarah Alexander panned the actor, telling Metro: “For Zellweger to masquerade as a plus-size person is damaging, fatphobic and potentially triggering to other plus-size people.

Similarly, Emma Thompson was met with a wave of criticism this year for wearing a fat suit to portray Miss Trunchbull in the upcoming film adaptation of Matilda the Musical.

However, associate professor of film from the University of Sydney Bruce Isaacs defended Thompson to The Australian, saying: “There’s something quite interesting and potentially provocative that takes place when an actor starts to transform into another figure.”