John Ritter’s Son Jason Defended His ‘Absolute Beaut’ Wife Whose Body Was Called ‘Not Right’ after Weight Gain

• Jason Ritter, the late John Ritter's son, stood up for his wife, Melanie Lynskey, after netizens attacked her appearance.
• His touching words moved some social media users.
• The actress has a positive outlook on her body and feels she's meant to rally others who look like her.

John Ritter, best known for his role in "8 Simple Rules" and "Three's Company," had four children by the time he passed on. Their names are Noah, Tyler, Carly, and Jason, and each has forged their path in life.

Jason, John's eldest child, has started his own family and is currently raising one child with his wife, Melanie Lynskey. While they are a happy family, Melanie has faced criticism because of her weight.

It has been more than 20 years since Jason's father passed away, but the late star made a lasting mark on his son. The celebrity's oldest child said he navigates parenthood by following what he experienced when being raised by his father.

Jason's daughter was born in 2018, and the couple ensured that one thing they passed down to her from the late actor was always knowing just how loved she was. John's son and daughter-in-law believe that telling their daughter they love her is crucial.

But there's something else they deem essential. The couple always wants their child to know that she can fail or mess up and her parents will always love and respect her. Jason once shared, "So, 'I love you' and 'I am here' are the two main ideas we're trying to pass on to our daughter."

When she was younger, Jason's daughter began to love acting like her grandfather and parents. As a toddler, she would watch videos of herself and then ask to see them again by imitating the sound she made in the footage.

John's son also said that his child enjoyed recreating old clips she had made before and even did the same "scene" once or twice. Jason believes his father would enjoy seeing his granddaughter "acting" as he did.

Why Did Jason's Wife Have to Defend Herself After Gaining Weight?

While Jason and Melanie are delighted with their daughter, whom they find intelligent and funny, the latter has faced criticism because of her weight gain in recent years. Such comments have taken a toll on the actress, who ended up lashing out.

Melanie starred in "Yellowjackets," a mystery series that premiered in 2021. By late January 2022, the actress had taken to Twitter to share her experience of what it was like being on the show and the feedback she got.

She mentioned that ever since the show premiered and people witnessed her weight gain, all she heard was their concern about whether or not she was still healthy. Jason's wife did not appreciate these comments, even if they seemed well-meant.

She snapped back at the critics via X in 2022, saying they did not know her exercise routine or how healthy she was. The actress ended the post by mentioning that: "skinny does not always equal healthy."

Many commenters agreed with her sentiments and wished people would stop commenting on women's weight. The star hasn't only faced criticism from online trolls but also from colleagues.

In a 2022 publication, she revealed that a "Yellowjackets" production team member asked her, "'What do you plan to do? I'm sure the producers will get you a trainer. They’d love to help you with this.'"

Luckily for her, her co-stars Tawny Cypress, Christina Ricci, and Juliette Lewis supported her. Lewis even went as far as writing a letter to the producers on Melanie's behalf! Hollywood still seems to see women of a certain age and size, like Jason's wife, as disposable.

Ashley Lyle, the show’s co-creator, wrote an email to the actress after hearing what had happened. Speaking of the email, Melanie stated that she was going to “keep it forever.” Lyle told the star that she was proud of having created a show where a "regular-sized woman" was in a love triangle with "two hot guys."

She also revealed that if she had seen something like that as a teenager, it would've changed the direction of her whole life. The series co-creator told Melanie that they love her and what she looks like.

Jason's wife finds it important that her "Yellowjackets" character, Shauna, never comments on her body. It's essential for the actress that she never has to put on a dress and wish she looked better.

Melanie found it crucial for her character to be sexual, and comfortable, and not to think about weight. What she wished for was that other women should watch her and say "Wow, she looks like me and nobody’s saying she’s the fat one" because "representation is important.”

Melanie has since spoken about what it was like for her to struggle with an eating disorder for over a decade. She also tackled what her healing process was like when she finally overcame it.

After overcoming her eating disorder, the actress said it was difficult for her to love her body. It was also challenging to accept her body after the hormonal changes that accompany pregnancy, pregnancy loss, and childbirth.

Melanie believes that the one thing that helps her become more accepting of her body and herself, in general, and over time is that she can portray a particular type of woman on TV and allow someone who looks or feels like that to feel empowered.

She mentioned, "That's going to make other women feel stronger and other women feel okay because everybody looks different." While the star is grateful to represent a particular group of women each time she is onscreen, she believes that representation is a huge problem in Hollywood.

Jason's wife felt this occurred because not enough people feel seen or heard. Melanie said few women look like her on TV, and there are also not many women of color, which is a struggle for them as they do not see themselves represented in essential roles.

The actress believes that if more groups are represented, those people will learn to love themselves more. For now, when she is having a hard day and doesn't love herself much, she asks herself why she shouldn't go out and act beautiful.

She then said, "Also, my daughter thinks I'm the most gorgeous thing she's ever seen. I don't want her to stop thinking that." Yet, fans and directors still tell her that her "body isn't right" for specific roles.

The actress combats these comments by going out into the world in whatever outfit she chooses, even if it is tight-fitting or deemed not suitable for her size! Doing this allows Melanie to feel confident in her body.

It also allows her to show the world that she is not afraid of what anyone else thinks about her body as long as she feels happy and healthy. Her husband certainly feels she is the most beautiful woman!

How Does Jason Publicly Admire Melanie?

While people worldwide don't believe Melanie's body is suitable for some roles, and some are concerned that she has gained weight, her husband is certainly not one of them. In fact, Jason enjoys praising his wife for her beauty, intelligence, and wit!

He does not comment on her weight and never lets her feel like her body is not good enough for him or their daughter. In March 2022, the actor took to X to share a photo of Melanie on the red carpet at the Critic's Choice Awards.

At the time, she was wearing a blue suit with a silver clutch purse and neutral makeup. Jason gushed, "I am sorry to do this, and she will be embarrassed that I did this, but my GOODNESS, what an [absolute] beaut my wife is!!!"

He invited his fans to look at her! The star also thought she was the best person he knew. Jason finished standing up for his wife in the post by adding the fire emoji and saying he was done praising her for the evening.

Fans of the couple were immediately charmed by the post and said it was amazing to see a husband being so in love with his wife. They were moved by him praising her despite what others had said about her.

Now that more people recognize Melanie because of her roles in "Yellowjackets" and "The Last of Us," she has gained some new fans, yet Jason will always be her biggest fan. In an interview, he praised the mother of his child some more.

Talking about her most recent projects, he enthused, "It's so satisfying; it's so incredible. She's just been so wonderful for so long, and she never really put a lot of thought process into anything else aside from her work. That was always the most important thing to her."

Jason Ritter then shared that he hoped her new fans would go back and watch some of her earlier work to see that she had always been so talented and capable. He also hoped they'd give her the recognition she deserved for her hard work throughout the years.

Melanie is also ecstatically happy with her husband and madly in love! In fact, she says she has nothing to complain about when it comes to him or their family because everything is coming together as she hoped.