Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Amy Schumer Says Actresses Gotta Be Smarter ‘If You Have A Stomach’

Amy Schumer is going viral for musing about the implications of her actually-how-a-normal-woman-looks figure… Again.

During Sunday night’s Critics Choice Awards, Schumer accepted the Critics’ Choice MVP Award from presenter Judd Apatow and gave a hilarious acceptance speech that was, as it always is with her, feminist at its core.

“I am plus-plus-size actress Amy Schumer,” she began to the roaring laughter of the audience.

Schumer thanked Trainwrekc’s producer, Judd Apatow for taking a chance on her and the critics for their positive reactions to the film.

“Thank you for this trophy, covering the reason that I had to write my own [stuff],” Schumer said. “If you’re an actress and you have this area right here,” she said, touching her stomach, “you have to write your own stuff if you want to get it made.”

Commenting on the sad reality actresses have to deal with, Schumer mocked the media and public’s reaction to her naked Annie Liebowitz shoot: “This is where I get really ‘brave’ as everyone said after my Annie Leibovitz photo. That’s what you want everyone to say when a naked photo of you goes viral. You want them to say, ‘What a brave photo.’ You’re like, ‘Thanks, wow, thank you.’”

Schumer paid tribute in her speech to Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson, the victims of the Lafayette theater shooting who died when a gunman opened fire 20 minutes into a screening of “Trainwreck” last July.

Sunday was also the first time Schumer’s new boyfriend, Ben Hanisch, accompanied her as a date to an awards show. We love them already.

Image by Getty Images

Watch the full acceptance speech below:

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.