Shonda Rhimes is opening up about how differently people have treated her since she's lost weight — and why she's troubled by it.
The "Scandal" and "Grey's Anatomy" creator revealed in her latest Shondaland newsletter that both men and women began giving her more attention and respect after she lost nearly 150 pounds over several years.
"Women I barely knew gushed. And I mean GUSHED. Like I was holding-a-new-baby-gushed. Only there was no new baby. It was just me. In a dress. With makeup on and my hair all did, yes. But ... still the same me," the 47-year-old writer, director and producer wrote, according to Entertainment Weekly.
"And men? They spoke to me. THEY SPOKE TO ME," she added. "Like stood still and had long conversations with me about things. It was disconcerting."
What really troubled Rhimes was how people felt "completely comfortable" talking to her about her body. "Telling me I looked ‘pretty’ or that they were ‘proud of me’ or that ‘wow, you are so hot now’ or ‘you look amazing!'” she wrote.
The mom of three revealed that she was confused by the fact that "after I lost weight, I discovered that people found me valuable. Worthy of conversation. A person one could look at. A person one could compliment. A person one could admire."
Rhimes wondered how these same friends and acquaintances saw her before the weight loss.
"You heard me. I discovered that NOW people saw me as a PERSON,” she continued. “What the hell did they see me as before? ... What words did they use to describe me? What value did they put on my presence at a party, a lunch, a discussion?"
She realized, "When I was fat, I wasn't a PERSON to these people. Like I had been an Invisible Woman who suddenly materialized in front of them. Poof! There I am. Thin and ready for a chat."
But, wrote Rhimes, "Being thinner doesn't make you a different person. It just makes you thinner."