KUALA LUMPUR: Fashion critic Zaihani Mohd Zain's recent body shaming statement has prompted Syanie Hisham to ask her, ‘‘Do you expect us to stay at home?’’
Actress, comedienne and self-confessed “big girl” Syanie, 44, said she was offended by Zaihani's comment about plus-sized people on Facebook, despite being a longtime fan of the fashion critic.
“I had always admired her frank and honest opinions, and identified with her fashion sense, style and good humour. Sadly, all this has changed in a flash because of that one statement she made,” she said in a news report today.
Regretting that Zaihani “poked fun at big girls and guys”, Syanie said: “Is she saying we’re not qualified to be at fashion-related events, and just stay at home? That's not fair!”
Syanie, who has appeared in films as Senario The Movie, Laila Isabella and Cuci The Movie, added that Zaihani ought to criticise dresses, not the individuals who wore them.
“We must not discriminate against people of different sizes. Everyone of us has a right to be part of public life, be it fashion or showbiz,” she said, adding that being prejudiced against plus-sized individuals caused many of them to lack self-esteem.
Meanwhile, fashion designer Datuk Tom Abang Saufi also regretted Zaihani's statement, despite being an old friend of the critic. Sharing her experiences with Zaihani on Instagram, Tom said size had never been an issue in fashion shows.
“We’ve been to fashion shows around the world and to date, I’ve never come across any critic making an issue out of models’ body sizes,” she said.
Zaihani came under fire after attending a fashion show and writing: “If you weigh more than 60kg, please don’t attend fashion events, as your huge thighs would take so much room causing people seating beside you to be uncomfortable.”
Her elitist comment drew flak from Netizens and fashion designers.
Zaihani is currently a mentor on Astro Ria’s reality show called Gen F which seeks to unearth new talents in the Malaysian fashion designing industry.
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