The Crown star Meg Bellamy was told she was ‘too fat’ to play Kate Middleton (Picture: Getty/ PA)
Meg Bellamy has described how she was subjected to trolling about her weight when playing Kate Middleton in The Crown.
The 21-year-old actress played the Princess of Wales in the sixth and final season of the hit Netflix drama, which came to an end last year.
In the season, she starred alongside Ed McVey as Prince William, with the show following their meeting at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and their subsequent courtship.
However, she’s now shared the negativity she faced when her casting was announced.
The actress recalled discovering ‘all this negative stuff’ about her body on the internet after she was cast as the princess.
‘The comments were mostly, “You’re too fat to play Kate”,’ she said.
The Netflix series was the actress’ first major role (Picture: Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Meg also said her experience with online trolls gave her a ‘glimpse into being a woman in this industry’.
‘I thought, “OK, that’s a sign to distance yourself, because it doesn’t mean anything”,’ she added when speaking to the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine.
‘You can’t listen to that sort of stuff. Not least because most of it is written by internet trolls, or men called Gary who are holding a fish in their profile picture.’
She starred alongside Ed McVey as Prince William (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Despite the negativity, Meg has said she is grateful for her time on the show.
‘They’re the losers for saying that. I’m living my best life over here,’ she said of those who took aim at her.
However, she did say she’s now ‘tried to put the character behind’ her since the show ended.
Meg detailed how trolls took aim at her weight when she was cast (Picture: Justin Downing/Netflix)
The Crown was the actress’ first major role, as well as that of Ed and Prince Harry actor Luther Ford.
She is next starring in the A Child of Science production at the Bristol Old Vic alongside Tom Felton and Adelle Leonce.
The Crown ran for six seasons and from 2016 until 2023 to great acclaim, covering the life and reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II, up to near the present day.
Boasting a star-studded cast of the likes of Olivia Colman, Claire Foy, Matt Smith and Dominic West, the historic drama also launched the careers of actors like Josh O’Connor and Elizabeth Debicki.
The Crown is streaming on Netflix.
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