John Candy‘s Son Confronts Journalists Over Decades-Old Fat-Shaming Interviews
The son of the late comedian John Candy has spoken out against journalists who repeatedly made insensitive comments about his father’s weight during interviews throughout his career, a practice highlighted in the new documentary “John Candy: I Like Me.” While the film, which premiered at the Toronto international Film Festival and began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on Oct. 10, showcases numerous instances of such behavior, it has sparked renewed discussion about the treatment of public figures and body image.
The documentary, directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds, reveals a pattern of interviewers directly addressing Candy’s weight in a demeaning manner during press junkets. Hanks told Variety before the film’s TIFF premiere, “You look at interview after interview and horrible things are being said and questions are being asked in incredibly insensitive ways… it’s tough to see how uncomfortable John was in almost every clip. And he had good reason, because some of the things that people said were revolting and would not be tolerated today.”
Reynolds took the issue a step further, personally contacting one journalist whose offensive comments were featured in the documentary. “there was a lot of things we left out of the documentary,journalists just saying stuff. One of them I called,” Reynolds revealed during a Q&A at TIFF. “I didn’t put it in the movie, but I called this journalist just to see.” Reynolds clarified he wasn’t seeking to shame the journalist,but rather to offer an chance for reflection. “[I told him] I took it out of the movie, but I’d put it in the movie if you wanted to talk about it, because maybe you have something to say about it, about your journey whenever it comes to something like that. We had such a thoughtful conversation about it.”
“John Candy: I Like Me” features interviews with a range of Candy’s former colleagues, including Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Catherine O’Hara. The film is currently available for streaming on Prime Video.
