Margot Robbie, the Australian actress best known for her roles in Barbie and The Wolf of Wall Street, has come forward with a disturbing memory from her early days in Hollywood that has left women across the internet seething.
The moment was shared during a filmed conversation with Charli XCX for Complex’s podcast Goat Talk (February 9), as Robbie promoted her latest project, Wuthering Heights, which arrives in theaters next Friday (February 13) alongside a soundtrack by the British pop star.
Highlights
- Margot Robbie recounted how a male actor gave her a controversial gift early in her career.
- Fans where appalled by the anecdote, seeing it as an example of what women face in showbusiness.
- The actress is preparing for the release of Wuthering Heights, which she stars in and produced.
“I was like, ‘F*** you, dude,’” the actress recounted.
Margot Robbie recalled one of the worst experiences of her early career with a male actor
Image credits: Aurore Marechal/Getty Images
“Very, very early in my career, an actor I worked with, a male actor gave me a book called French Women Don’t Get Fat, and it was essentially a book telling you to eat less,” Robbie said.
The book, written by Mireille Guiliano and published in 2007, is framed as a lifestyle guide rooted in the eating habits of Parisian women.
Image credits: Karwai Tang/WireImage
In it, Guiliano, a French-born executive at Champagne house Veuve Clicquot, argues that weight control is less about restriction and more about cultivating a lifelong relationship with food that emphasizes quality over quantity.
Image credits: Complex
Her method discourages strict calorie-counting or fad diets, and instead promotes small portions, eating slowly, home cooking with fresh ingredients, and walking daily.
Furthermore, the author describes French women as rarely denying themselves pastries or chocolate, but never overindulging either.
After it was released in December 2004, the book became an instant hit, reaching the nº1 spot on The New York Times Best Seller list, and remaining there for nearly a year.
Beyond the praise and commercial success, however, some critics raised concerns about the book perpetuating harmful body ideals. In 2013, Guiliano released a sequel titled French Women Don't Get Facelifts.
For Robbie, who had just begun earning professional credits in Australian television when she was given the book, the gesture was anything but empowering.
Robbie’s fans were appalled by her anecdote, believing it illustrates the pressures women in showbusiness face
Image credits: Complex
Image credits: Mireille Guiliano
“He essentially gave me a book to let me know that I should lose weight,” the actress said. “I was like, ‘Wow.’”
Online, the backlash was immediate. Commenters called the gesture “disgusting,” “condescending,” and “dangerous,” while others pointed out the long-term psychological toll of internalized body shame.
“The way some men talk to women under the guise of ‘advice’ is why eating d**orders exist,” another added.
Image credits: Paramount Pictures
Robbie never named the actor, but the incident has drawn widespread fury from women who see the moment as emblematic of the type of pressure that persists in Hollywood.
“Margot Robbie has said that multiple directors in Hollywood have told her she’s too fat and needs to be thinner,” a fan said.
“Let that sink in ! Hollywood is so mental they see Margot Robbie as fat ! These people are just crazy.”
Others mocked the book, arguing the true reason for the alleged thinness of French women had less to do with what they eat and more to do with less healthy habits.
“The subtitle of this book should be ‘smoke like a chimney,’” a reader wrote.
“The subtitle of this book should be ‘smoke like a chimney,’” a reader wrote.
Robbie is preparing for the release of her latest project, Wuthering Heights, which she both produced and stars in
Image credits: Complex
Robbie presumably received the gift around 2007, when she first appeared in projects like Vigilante and Neighbours.
Her international breakthrough didn’t come until 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street, in which she portrayed Naomi Lapaglia opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. But in those early years, Robbie was a relatively unknown actress navigating the harsh realities of showbusiness.
Image credits: Neil Mockford/GC Images
Since then, Robbie has appeared in a wide range of major films, including Suicide Squad (2016), I, Tonya (2017), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), and Babylon (2022).
She also co-founded LuckyChap Entertainment, the production company behind I, Tonya, Promising Young Woman, and 2023’s megahit, Barbie.
Image credits: Complex
Now, that same production company is preparing for the opening of Wuthering Heights, a new film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel.
In the movie, Robbie plays Catherine Earnshaw, one half of the central tragic couple whose intense, turbulent relationship with Heathcliff drives the story.
The film is directed by Emerald Fennell and features a soundtrack with original songs by Charli XCX.
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