Coworker body-shames Yellowjackets star on set: Is that illegal?

Obviously, sharing an opinion about a coworker's body is impolite, but is it illegal? A star of the Showtime series Yellowjackets wants to know.

Negative comments abound

Melanie Lynskey, who plays the character Shauna in Yellowjackets, recently recounted an incident in which a coworker allegedly criticized her body on set. According to the actress, a production team member asked her what she planned to do about her weight and suggested the show’s producers would be willing to hire a personal trainer to help get her in shape. Lynskey, 41, said she also was body-shamed by viewers who questioned whether the character Adam, a handsome young artist who has an affair with her character, would have been attracted to someone who looks like her.

Unfortunately, negative comments and unwanted attention like Lynskey received on set are all too common in American society, and the attitudes frequently spill over into the workplace:

• A Yale University study found employees who are overweight are 12 times more likely to experience discrimination based on their weight than their thinner coworkers.
• A Vanderbilt University found overweight women make less money than women of average weight and less than all men, even men who are overweight.

But are they illegal?

Courts often emphasize the laws governing workplace discrimination aren’t “general civility” codes for the American workplace. To be unlawful, discrimination must be based on an employee’s sex, race, color, religion, or other protected characteristic.