Kim Coles, beloved for her role as Synclaire James on the hit sitcom Living Single, has revealed that producers once threatened to incorporate “fat jokes” into the show’s scripts if she didn’t lose weight.
Speaking with former co-star Erika Alexander on the August 6 episode of their ReLiving Single podcast, Coles, 63, recalled how the show’s executives made it clear they wanted her to slim down—or face having her weight mocked on-screen.
“The producers of the show came to me and said, ‘Listen, we want you to lose weight. And if you don’t, we’re going to write it into the script. We’re going to put fat jokes in,’” she said.
The pair revisited the Season 1, Episode 12, titled “Crappy Birthday,” in which Queen Latifah’s character Khadijah has a chaotic road trip to Atlantic City. In one scene, Khadijah jokes about something weighing down the car, prompting Synclaire to respond, “You better not be looking at me.” Both Coles and Alexander acknowledged the moment as a subtle weight joke.
Alexander admitted some early scripts included similar lines, but said Queen Latifah intervened, telling producers, “We’re not going to be doing that.” According to Coles, the comments ceased to appear in scripts after that.
Still, Coles revealed she received calls at the start of each season from producers through her manager, pressuring her to lose weight. She described the behind-the-scenes atmosphere as oppressive, shaped by “suits in an office” with narrow, Eurocentric standards of beauty.
Coles also remembered telling Alexander at the time about the threat, and Alexander responding, “I won’t read those jokes.” Alexander affirmed that none of the cast would have gone along with humiliating a fellow actor. “You have to have willing collaborators,” she said, though she noted the pressure still took a toll.
Coles admitted the comments affected her, leading her to make “a very concerted effort” during the series to maintain the image producers wanted.