‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Markets Inclusivity While Keeping Its Fat Jokes Thin

During a two‑month global press tour that coincided with Milan Fashion Week, leading cast members of the anticipated sequel, notably the veteran actress and the former Disney star, publicly expressed outrage at the prevailing ultra‑thin runway standards and asserted that they would press the producers to ensure that any models appearing in the film would reflect a broader range of body types, a stance that was repeatedly emphasized in interviews and press conferences.

When the film finally opened, however, the promised inclusivity evaporated within the first fifteen minutes as a single weight‑related joke surfaced, followed by a fleeting montage that featured a handful of plus‑size figures, including a well‑known runway activist, while the remainder of the narrative persisted in its reliance on thin‑ideal aesthetics and resorted to a series of derogatory quips about weight that, despite their frequency, managed to reference the popular weight‑loss medication only once, thereby underscoring the tokenistic nature of the so‑called diversity.

The outcome, therefore, illustrates a predictable pattern in which studio executives and marketing teams capitalize on contemporary social discourses to generate headlines, yet deliberately preserve the status quo through minimal on‑screen representation, a practice that not only diminishes the credibility of any genuine commitment to body positivity but also reinforces the industry's entrenched bias by allowing fleeting cameo appearances and isolated jokes to masquerade as substantive progress.

Such a contradiction between public rhetoric and artistic execution reveals an institutional gap wherein press‑tour narratives are calibrated to appease advocacy groups while production decisions remain governed by profit‑driven formulas that regard diversity as a checkbox rather than an integral narrative element, a reality that the sequel’s own promotional material inadvertently confirms through its dissonant messaging.

Published: May 2, 2026