Margot Robbie’s lighthearted interview game turned into a brutal flashback when the actress revealed a highly insulting “gift” she received early in her career.
The 35-year-old actress made the revelation while playing a round of GOAT Talk for Complex alongside musician Charli XCX, who composed the soundtrack for Robbie’s upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation. The segment, designed to rank participants’ greatest and worst moments, started off breezy enough — until Robbie was asked to name the worst gift she’s ever been given.
She didn’t hesitate.
“A male actor gave me a book called Why French Women Don’t Get Fat,” Robbie said bluntly. “It was essentially a book telling you to eat less.”
Charli XCX, 33, visibly recoiled from the shocking gift.
Robbie explained that the gift came early in her career and landed exactly how it sounded: as a thinly veiled insult.
The Barbie actress recalled thinking, “Whoa, f — you, dude,” adding that the message was unmistakable. “He essentially gave me a book to let me know that I should lose weight,” she said.
The book, written by Mireille Guiliano and first published in 2007, is marketed on Amazon as a lifestyle guide centered on balanced eating and wellness rather than a traditional diet manual. Though Robbie made clear that the “gift” left her deeply offended.
Charli XCX pressed for details, asking whether the mystery actor’s career survived such audacity. Robbie shrugged it off, saying the incident happened “really back in the day” and that she has “no idea where he would even be now.”
Charli, meanwhile, didn’t miss a beat. “Your career’s over, babe,” she joked.
Robbie has previously addressed this kind of body policing directly in interviews surrounding her hit film Barbie. In a 2023 interview with Vogue, Robbie noted that even though she plays a plastic doll, her character is still sexualized by society. “People project sex onto her,” she said, pointing to the film as a critique of the impossible standards placed on women.
The conversation quickly pivoted when Charli offered her own answer to the worst gift question — recounting an unsettling encounter in which a fan gave her the ashes of their mother. Charli said she accepted the urn out of politeness, even though she had no idea what to do with it, leaving Robbie visibly stunned.
From there, the tone reset, with the duo moving on to lighter territory and tackling the next card: the worst red flag in a potential romantic partner.
The women agreed that possessiveness and jealousy topped the list — though Robbie couldn’t resist tying the answer back to Wuthering Heights, joking that such traits might make sense for Heathcliff but not in real life.
The moment doubled as a seamless plug for the film, which stars Robbie opposite Jacob Elordi in the latest adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel. The movie is set to hit theaters Feb. 13.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Margot Robbie’s team for comment.
