Carmen Electra says she was told to lose weight while on Baywatch — and she's glad that "times have changed." Carmen portrayed Lani McKenzie on the show from 1997 to 1998. During an interview with Extra TV at the After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun premiere, Carmen recalled being told that she was "too heavy" and needed to "lose some pounds," per Page Six. She admitted that the comments got to her at the time.
Looking back on it all now, she loves the way her body looked at the time. "When I look back, I love my body and I love that I was curvy," she told Extra. The comments producers made were indicative of what was considered socially acceptable at the time, she explained. She's glad these norms are shifting.
Back then, "producers would come to you and say, 'you need to stop eating some snacks,'" she said. But, she believes "those times have changed. You can’t do that anymore," and she sees it as a positive change.
"I love being a part of this time era where you can't just go in and tell someone how they should live, who they should date, and what weight [they] should be," she told Extra. "I love what’s happening now."
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Though she "really did take it seriously" at the time, she sees it differently now: "now, no way. I mean, no. You can’t do that these days and that's cool."
While the body standards for actors on the show were not the most progressive, Carmen thinks the show was pretty "equal" in the sense that it wasn't just focused on sexy, scantily clad women.
"People were watching it for the sexy bodies, the slo-mo run," Carmen told People. "These guys were handsome, ripped, and they were in Speedos. It just wasn't about us girls. We'd say, 'See? Everything's equal around here. Pants off!'"
After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun is streaming on Hulu.
