DIET | DETECTIVE^®

Weight has always been a meal ticket to tabloid superstardom. Whenever you need some free publicity, you can gain too much (Britney Spears, Kirstie Alley, Oprah Winfrey); lose too much (Nicole Richie, Kate Bosworth, Nicky Hilton); or both (Jessica Simpson, Janet Jackson, Hilary Duff). But while the celebs I mentioned above all have actual careers beyond their calorie intake—yes, even Nicky—there’s one person who has literally ridden the coattails of her weight woes for eighteen years now. Can you guess who it is?

It’s Carnie Wilson. She had a bona fide hit with Wilson Philipps in 1990, even if they were basically the 90’s equivalent of a band featuring Nicole Richie and the Hilton sisters. Since then, she’s been famous for her gastric bypass surgery, her dramatic weight loss, the two books she wrote about that dramatic weight loss, a post-weight loss Playboy pictorial, and a slow and steady regain. (Oh, and an album of lullabies that happens to have the same title as Britney Spears’ 2003 novel.)

So, no surprise, Carnie recently opened up to OK magazine and admitted she’d gained too much. Some tabloids estimated that figure at about 79 pounds; she went on Good Morning America and announced that the real number was 57 pounds.

Does it matter? Would anyone be talking about Carnie Wilson today if it weren’t for her constant weight updates? No, and that’s the point. Hollywood is so obsessed with weight that someone can stay in the spotlight simply by gaining or losing. Crazy.

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