Carmen Electra on Being Told to Lose Weight During 'Baywatch' Filming: 'I Love That I Was Curvy'
Electra starred in the hit series as Lani Mckensie for its eighth season.
Carmen Electra recently recalled being shamed for her weight while filming Baywatch.
The iconic 1989 action drama series followed a young group of lifeguards patrolling the beaches of Los Angeles. The women of the cast in particular, including Pamela Anderson, became famous for wearing skin-tight, one-piece swimsuits while running across the beach in slow-motion.
On Monday, the actress appeared on the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of the docuseries After Baywatch: Moment in the Sun. While speaking to Extra, Electra was asked if she ever felt pressure to live up to the beauty standards set by the series.
"I did because I was always told that I need to lose weight," said Electra, 52, at the 1:52 mark in the video below. "I grew up studying classical ballet and that was what was happening in my life. So I think as time went on, I would still listen to that and take it to heart."
However, Electra admitted that she is able to look back at that time period and appreciate her body exactly for what it was while playing Lani Mckensie on the hit series.
"When I look back, I love my body and I love that I was curvy and not, like, straight up and down," she added. "Those times have changed. You can't do that anymore."
She continued, "It was kind of the beginning of those times where producers could come to you and say, 'You need to stop eating some snacks.' For that moment, I really did take it seriously as a professional dancer because that was always engraved into my mind growing up."
Electra expressed gratitude for the change that exists since the show's premiere and implied that a producer telling someone to lose weight would not be tolerated today.
"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 you should be. I love what's happening now," Electra said of today’s times.
"I feel like everyone is coming to be who they are and it's very accepted, you know? And I love the people that have supported me through my career," she added. "I know who they are, and my heart skips a beat because without everyone, there wouldn't be any of this."
