Andy Richter is reflecting on his weight struggles in the public eye after revealing that he’s dropped a few pounds because of Dancing With the Stars.
Richter, 59, was in conversation with Colin Hanks during the Tuesday, November 4, episode of SiriusXM’s “The Three Questions with Andy Richter” podcast. Hanks, 47, was on the show to discuss directing Prime Video’s John Candy: I Like Me documentary when the topic of weight came up.
Hanks detailed how the late Candy’s weight was always discussed in interviews when Richter lamented on the early days of his own career.
“The first thing that comes to mind is one of my standard lines about what it was like to start in 1993 on Late Night With Conan O’Brien — that being the first thing I had ever done,” Richter said. “I had acted, but nothing that had ever gotten any attention or that was out even. I had already done the movie Cabin Boy, but it wasn’t out yet.”
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He added, “One of my standard lines is, ‘I didn’t know there were so many ways to call someone fat.’ Because it was just cherubic, rotund, all these different [words].”
Richter said the way he was described was “galling” to him.
“They don’t say anything about my good, strong teeth. But they have to mention that,” he continued, noting that there’s a “comedy” aspect as well. Richter even admitted to joking about his own weight struggles.
“I would always say it’s skinny and fatty,” Richter recalled. “That’s a comedy trope. It was always kind of that thing.”
Richter has been candid about discussing his recent transformation since making his DWTS debut in September alongside professional dance partner Emma Slater.
The comedian said on the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast last month that he initially didn’t want to be on DWTS but decided to use the show as a way to “get moving” in his daily life.
“It got me to go to the gym and do cardio, which I loathe. I started to do a lot more stretching just to kind of prepare myself,” he said. “I was terrified that I was going to get injured or that I just wouldn’t be able to do it. And then would have to pull out and be embarrassed.”
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Slater, 36, mentioned that Richter has lost weight during last week’s prerecorded package ahead of their performance.
“I was thinking I won’t be able to cut it,” Richter said in one rehearsal package. “Now I have to admit all this physical activity has made me feel better about myself.”
He added, “I definitely felt like, ‘Well, I’m older now, I can’t do as much as I used to.’ And now, I’m like, ‘Yes you can, you lazy bum.’ I just feel like a better person now. I feel more alive.”
Richter’s continued success in the competition has received mixed reactions from viewers. Some DWTS fans want him to win, while others hope the comedian gets eliminated.
“It is an entertainment show, and it is for people that have not done this before, and so it’s beautiful to watch them get a moment in the spotlight and to grow and to see improvement,” Slater told Us Weekly exclusively last month. “He, every bit, deserves his place here.”
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