Stevie's weight?

[diamondsnake]

Hey,
I am a pretty new Stevie fan. I starting getting in to the Mac during the Dance timeframe. Anyway, I have been reading some things and I read that both critics and fans made fun of Stevie because she gained a lot of weight and she vowed never to perform again. Is this true? How much weight could she have possible gained? Are there any pictures of her? And why the heck did the fans turn on her?

[The Catdancer]

Originally posted by diamondsnake
Hey,
I am a pretty new Stevie fan. I starting getting in to the Mac during the Dance timeframe. Anyway, I have been reading some things and I read that both critics and fans made fun of Stevie because she gained a lot of weight and she vowed never to perform again. Is this true? How much weight could she have possible gained? Are there any pictures of her? And why the heck did the fans turn on her?

She was pretty heavy and the critics were anything but nice. They didn't talk about her performance, they talked about her weight. And yes, they made fun of her. From what I understand she said:"I won't be performing untill I loose the weight". She did and is performing again. She looks and sounds better than ever.
As for the fans..... a true fan will NEVER turn on her, no matter how she looks, fat or thin, popular or impopular. I've been a fan since Rhiannon and so are a lot of others here.

[golden braid]

Stevie says she weighed 170-175 lbs and she is only 5 ft 1. I think since then she says she has lost around 30 lbs. There are some pictures of her and I have a video of her when she performed "Blue Denim" on Jay Leno. I don't think she looked good but it was more her outfit and her hair do that made her look bad. Big, poofy crimped hair.

[dissention]

Fat or thin, I love Stevie to death. Anyone who would criticize her for how she looks is an asshole, plain and simple. if they can't focus on the marvelous music, f*ck 'em. The critics that said nasty things about her probable have polyester pants AND hips.

I was at the Boston opening night for the SA tour and was APPALLED at the way some supposed "fans" acted. They yelled some incredibly mean things towards Stevie and I just wanted to go up, take her in my arms, and tell her I loved her just as much as I always did and to keep her head high.

[David]

Originally posted by dissention
I was at the Boston opening night for the SA tour and was APPALLED at the way some supposed "fans" acted. They yelled some incredibly mean things towards Stevie and I just wanted to go up, take her in my arms, and tell her I loved her just as much as I always did and to keep her head high.

How terrible! When I saw Stevie in California in '94, I didn't hear anyone make any cheap shots about her weight. The only time I ever remember hearing anyone in the audience say anything about her weight was at the Universal Amphitheatre show with Jackson Browne & Don Henley in 1985. The woman next to me said, "Didn't she put a little weight on?"

I don't like being extremely mean to Stevie, but I have to disagree with the poster who said that she looks & sounds better than ever (unless that person just meant it rhetorically). She doesn't look as great today as she did in 1976. Most people look a lot better at 28 than they do in their 50s, & Stevie's no exception.

I actually really liked the way she looked in the "If You Ever Did Believe" video.

[DrummerDeanna]

Just another fine example of how horrible society is with women's image. So who give a rat's ass if she put on weight!?! She said it best, she said something like, "what since I put on weight I'm not a good singer anymore?" Or something to that effect...like she sings and writes...she doesn't model swim wear...so it shouldn't matter how big or small she is...though with the emphasis on size in this country I'm sure she felt horrible herself...but I agree...she looks and sounds amazing now!! And I, for one, don't care how much she weighs...I just care about the music...

[Sorcerer386]

While there were obvious reports and pokes at Stevie for her gained weight, I think a lot had to do with herself rather than outside influences. I just don't think she was happy being as heavy as she was. And she mentioned in the DownTown interview that she would walk on stage and see disappointed faces and would want to say "I'm sorry I can't be the Stevie that you once knew and loved." Meanwhile, she was putting on the best tour since 1983. Also, besides the glares and everything else, I'm sure it wasn't easy for her bouncing around like she does while being heavier...it was probably hard on her physically.

To answer your questions: Yes, she vowed never to sing live again until she lost the weight. I don't think she ever says how much weight she gained since Timespace, only that she gained 10 pounds after going home from Exodus (the rehab she went to to kick Klonopin), and that she ended up being 175. There are many Street Angel tour pictures, and I don't think the TRUE fans turned on her. Again, while many criticized her, I think it was an internal struggle too...an inferiority complex for lack of better terms.

[diamondsnake]

Some of this stuff I'm reading is crazy.... Can someone help me connect the dotes?

What I'm confused about is, why would fans be dissapointed when they first saw Stevie? Were they not aware that she had gained weight? I mean I would be very suprised if I had no idea that Stevie was 30 pounds heavier and then saw her on stage like that. Not to be cruel, because I am not think myself, but I can understand how that might take away from a concert. You know what I mean? If you have no idea someone has gained a lot of weight that could be on your mind for a while, making it hard to focus on the actual songs. Just an idea. I don't really know.

Also, were people really suprised to see Stevie looking so great on the Dance concert video? I mean was it like she went into hiding so she would come back looking excellent and prove everyone wrong? Or did she just pretty much stay out of the press?

The only reason I have all these questions is because I was about 8 years old during the Street Angel tour. I started being a fan during the Dance tour and now I have pretty much become a huge fan. I still have not learned everything about the bands history though...

Thanks for all the help...

[Hawkeye]

I still have not learned everything about the bands history though...

Any you never will There is ALWAYS more. Stevie doesn't even know the band's full history.

[Jason T.]

Originally posted by DrummerDeanna
Just another fine example of how horrible society is with women's image. So who give a rat's ass if she put on weight!?! She said it best, she said something like, "what since I put on weight I'm not a good singer anymore?" Or something to that effect...like she sings and writes...she doesn't model swim wear...so it shouldn't matter how big or small she is...though with the emphasis on size in this country I'm sure she felt horrible herself...but I agree...she looks and sounds amazing now!! And I, for one, don't care how much she weighs...I just care about the music...

They better recognize! Stevie is the queen of rock, and beauty should not be measured on a scale of weight...especially with someone whose beauty is possessed in MANY other areas as well as image, such as Stevie. That just pisses me off...some people are just freakin' jackasses.

[strandinthewind]

You know Stevie's weight has always been a Catch 22 with me. I adore her and loved her even more on the SA tour, where she was heavier but rocked her a$$ off in a sober way in great voice. But, she put herself out there as a sex symbol for over 10 years, so when she was no longer one because of the weight (sadly, that is just the way it is for men and perhaps more women) people reacted poorly. I am just glad she is comfortable with herself now as opposed to then no matter what she weighs!

[MacMan]

The weight thing actually started way before 1994 and Street Angel. I saw the band in 1990 and although she clearly wasn't herself on stage, and wasn't too energetic, it was still a great show. I read alot of newspaper reviews after the Behind The Mask shows in my area and the reviewers would consentrate more on her weight and the lack of interest she seemed to show during the concert, rather then on the actual music of the concert which was great or the other band members.

I have videos of shows back in 1989 and this to me is the first indication that she'd put on weight and was not as energetic and seemed like she was in some sorta zone. Only later would we all realize why.... It was the Klonopin!

At the last show in 1994 in LA at the end of Street Angel, she walked off stage and vowed never to perform again at that weight.

I think she was her own worse critic in this dept. Most people are who have a few extra pounds on.

Personally the best I've seen Stevie look in the 90's is when she did the Grammies in 1998 and when she sang HAEWAFY on Letterman in 1998. She was pretty trim at that point.

[David R]

Stevie was never FAT, she knew when she needed to lose it and she did. Then when she came back to the mac in 97 she became one of the 50 most beautiful people(people magazine, not that I read it), and she was over 50. She knows and feels how her body should be. Gotta love that lady...

[strandinthewind]

IMO, she lost her lithe dancer's body sometime between The Wild Heart record and Rock a Little. In the Red Rocks video, she appears as a maturer woman with a fuller (not fat) figure.

[dissention]

Originally posted by diamondsnake
Also, were people really suprised to see Stevie looking so great on the Dance concert video? I mean was it like she went into hiding so she would come back looking excellent and prove everyone wrong? Or did she just pretty much stay out of the press?

Most people were surprised. After the SA tour, she didn't do anything but a few free shows in '96. She DID NOT look good or healthy during these free shows; she looked like she was very sick. Then when the Dance came around, we saw this gorgeous, sexy, focused, and happy Stevie. She was a real sexpot during the Dance, IMO. She looked fit and healthy. The rest is history!