Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph has a new role far from the halls of a grade school. The recent Emmy winner struts down the catwalk in Rihanna’s newest Savage X Fenty Vol. 4 fashion show on Prime Video. The brand is hailed for inclusive sizing, and Ralph knows firsthand that not all designers are as welcoming.
“I really do remember a time in my career when a design house told me that I was not the body that they wanted to dress, with its vulgar in and outs. To this day, I do not wear that line every time I see their name. I will never wear their line,” says Ralph, 65. “I’m sure they’ve changed since then but that’s what they said.”
Ralph stops short of naming the designer, instead preferring to steer clear of negativity. “Why bother?” she says. “The positive is that now, we have body positivity and people are more accepting of different shapes and bodies. I look at it this way — if my body is vulgar, so [is] Kim Kardashian’s, so [is] Beyonce’s, and so are many others who have curves and the ins and the outs.”
This story first appeared in the Nov. 16 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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