Calista Flockhart Says Anorexia Rumors during "Ally McBeal" left her "Embarrassed and Infuriated"
by Michael Ausiello
Jan. 26, 2024


Calista Flockhart says the anorexia rumors that swirled around her during the heyday of "Ally McBeal" cast a pall over her experience on the show.

“I loved working on Ally McBeal, and it just made it sour,” the actress tells the New York Times in a wide-ranging profile. “I was very sleep-deprived and I was depressed about it. I did think that it was going to ruin my career. I didn’t think anybody would ever hire me again, because they would just assume I had anorexia, and that would be the end of that.”

“I had days where I was really hurt and embarrassed and infuriated,” she adds. “I was lucky that I had to work. I just put my head down. I always felt like, ‘Calista, you’re a good person, you’re not mean to anybody,’ and I’m confident in that.”




Flockhart believes if "Ally McBeal" had premiered in this decade vs. the ’90s such chatter would trigger a backlash. “I don’t think that would ever happen today,” she muses. “They call it body-shaming now. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, but it’s really not OK to accuse someone of having a disease that a lot of people struggle with.”

For the record, the she insists, “I honestly have never been in a situation where I have to watch my weight. My mom is 4-11 now, and she weighed 93 pounds when she was married. Talk about a little tiny elf. I just have small bones, and I just am lucky.”

https://tvline.com/news/calista-flockhart-anorexia-rumors-ally-mcbeal-interview-1235139507/

Calista Flockhart “Felt On Trial” When Ally McBeal was Slammed For “Weight and Anti-Feminist Short Skirts”
by Caroline Frost
April 21, 2024


Calista Flockhart has reflected on her time in the title role of hit legal drama "Ally McBeal", saying she “felt on trial” herself in the media.

Despite, or because of, its popularity with viewers, the show became a litmus paper for commentary in the media, with Time magazine suggesting that it signified the “death of feminism” with the female cast members’ short skirts and slim figures.



Flockhart told The Times of London that what had started out as “creating something really special” then “went to s**t” with all the scrutiny of her character’s appearance and obsession with her biological clock, symbolized by the vision of a dancing baby.

She recalled: “My short skirts, allegedly the death of feminism and, of course, people were talking about my weight… I felt like I was on trial for something. It was bizarre. I never knew if my heart was going to break into a million pieces or if I was going to die laughing. It was that absurd… To me, the show was about one woman, who happened to be vulnerable and weird. I didn’t think she was representative of all women.”

https://deadline.com/2024/04/calista-flockhart-felt-on-trial-when-ally-mcbeal-slammed-weight-anti-feminist-short-skirts-1235891052/