Jameela Jamil Knows She “Looks Like The Enemy” But Promises Her Acts Of Social Justice Are Legit

Jameela Jamil spoke with The Guardian about her work as an actress and a social activist, and she told them that she gets it. She’s a hot, rich, and skinny woman, so why should we listen to her talk about body shaming and other image issues? Well because someone has to do it, and since she’s got the platform for it, why not her? So says Jameela.

Jameela said that she really hopes that this pandemic will change society for the better and thinks celebrities should shut the fuck up and donate more money. A sentiment I can fully support. She herself has donated to refugee and domestic violence charities and went on about how famous types will be knocked off of their pedestal a bit:

“Our value systems are going to shift. Celebrities have been hero-worshipped, and now it has become very obvious who the true heroes are. And I think celebrities are consistently making arses of themselves…. Who is going to have the money for cellulite cream, fillers or detox teas? No one’s going to want to see your $300 bikini any more. The way that we have looked up to money, fame and materialism… I think that’s gone overnight because we don’t have the luxury any more. We’re talking about life or death. This is a depression. [Celebrities] need to shut up and open their purses.”

Yes, just like other plagues stopped greedy capitalism, I’m sure this pandemic will too.

Jameela also talked about creating her own podcast and YouTube series, I Weigh With Jameela Jamil, with the hope that it will be a platform for other people to get out their messages:

“You have to take hold of the mic first before you can pass it.”

Jameela isn’t letting go of the mic anytime soon, but said she knows that women who speak out, especially women of color, are attacked online for doing so:

“That isn’t just about the woman they are vilifying. It’s also a deliberate message they are sending out to all other women to not speak out, to not stand for something, to not break the rules. And that’s why I can’t back down now, because otherwise it would say that it wasn’t worth it and that I shouldn’t have stuck my neck out…“Important conversations feel uncomfortable. And therefore we leave young people unarmed.” She would like to work on syllabuses for schools “so that we don’t learn more about igneous rock than we learn about consent, eating disorders and the lies of social media.”

Jameela went on to say that she’s “absolutely fine” dealing with controversies that follow her, but only if she’s wrong. She brought up two instances where she felt she was wrongly attacked: 1. People saying she has Munchausen’s. 2. Piers Morgan fucking with her regarding the suicide of Caroline Flack:

“It’s when it’s a lie, a smear campaign–that doesn’t sit well with me because that’s the technique of discredit. We make [women] sound crazy and unhinged, and we try to devalue their word and their work. I’d say the Munchausen’s thing. The Caroline Flack thing really upset me because we were on good terms.”

Jameela said she would “do certain things differently” in life, but ultimately she thinks that she would “rather start the fights that I start” than “be complicit” in an industry that puts out “toxicity” in the world. She said it’s up to her to prove to us that she’s not just a “slim, privileged” “shitbag” after all.

“I look like the enemy. I’m a slim, privileged person who exists within this industry; I totally get the mistrust. I will just have to do the work to prove I wasn’t such a shitbag after all. I’m not doing this for popularity. I’m doing this so that I can undo the stuff that I saw when I was younger, that made me unwell, and try to change it… And sometimes you have to be annoying and attention-seeking in order to instigate that change.”

Oh, and she also touched on that controversy of her coming out as queer after getting ragged on for judging Legendary, the ballroom vogueing competition on HBO Max:

She had not come out before “because I was worried that people would think I was jumping on a trendy bandwagon. And various other reasons. So I understand the pushback.” What she didn’t understand, she says, were the claims she was a liar. “What a weird lie,” she says with a laugh. “It doesn’t help to identify yourself in any way in an industry that still discriminates against people. But the rest of it, I understood. That’s why I didn’t come back complaining.”

Speaking of, the trailer for Legendary is out and you can catch Jameela being her queer-self and judging others on May 27:

Here’s hoping Jameela is up to date on all the LGBTQ lingo. I don’t want a ball queen calling her “sickening” and then Jameela getting mad about them making light of her health issues.

Pic: Instagram