Anthony Anderson is one of America’s beloved dads. The Black-Ish star has been on our screens for decades and has undergone quite the physical transformation in that time. The initially plus-sized comic is much slimmer these days and is opening up about his health journey.
Anthony Anderson began his career back in 1995 with the series Hard Times. From there, the chubby star became a regular, popping up all over our screens on series like NYPD: Blue, Ally McBeal, The Bernie Mac Show, and Til Death. Anderson even scored his own shortlived sitcom on The WB called All About Anderson. He would eventually join the cast of Law & Order before scoring his biggest role to date, that of Dre on Black-Ish. Since the show’s debut, Anthony has seen a marked change in his body, with him slimming down significantly over the years.
Anthony has long since been public about his struggle with Type 2 diabetes. While promoting the film You People, Anthony has been talking more about his diagnosis and how it impacted his family. According to KTLA, “Over 20 years ago, he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He was the first person to receive the diagnosis in his family. Later both his parents were diagnosed as well. He ultimately lost his father due to complications from the disease.”
Anthony and his mother are inseparable these days, starring in several projects and commercials together. Anthony also has a commercial running right now where he encourages people to get tested and get control of the disease. During a stand-up special in Montreal, he jokes about his weight loss and how diabetes impacted him. “I noticed how different my friends reacted to my weight loss.” He said white friends encouraged him and told him, “Anthony, you look great; you look phenomenal. We want you to live!” Anthony says his black friends said, “Damn dog, you sick?”
Anderson continues to advocate for weight loss despite people thinking he’s sick. In a recent post, he discussed his time on the Kelly Clarkson show. “I’m on set today with Kelly Clarkson! One of the things we talked about is an issue that I’m super passionate about – the link between type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” While he was there for a good cause, people could not help but point out that he was slimmer than usual.
One person shut down the rude comments saying, “Before yall comment some unfunny joke, take a moment and think about Chadwick!!! I’ve loved Anthony since kangaroo jack when I was kid 🫶🏽 thanks for all you’ve gave us!” Another fan said, “Two things I found about this. 1. We, as black folk, got no ‘couth’ speaking openly about the man on HIS IG post 😐🙄😑 2. We black folk need to talk better care of ourselves because we got issues.”
Anthony Anderson has not responded to fan concerns. After reviewing his Instagram it appears the actor has been serious at weight loss and his health for a while now.