Mayim Bialik's What Not To Wear Controversy, Explained
They say the clothes make the person, but when "The Big Bang Theory" and "Blossom" star Mayim Bialik appeared on "What Not to Wear" in 2022, the show ignored a fundamental part of what makes the actor feel like herself — namely her self-described Conservadox Judaism. In accordance with her spiritual beliefs, there was a period of time when Bialik didn't wear pants (and neither did her "Big Bang Theory" character, Amy Farrah Fowler), and to this day, she avoids wearing anything revealing. That wasn't something the show's hosts seemed to understand. Bialik claimed in an article for Tablet (quoted by Entertainment Weekly in 2009) that her explanation for wanting to remain modest was ignored by the show's producers.
"When we filmed me revealing the final outfits they picked, I gently pointed out that skirts above the knee are not something I'd wear, and that I wouldn't wear sleeveless shirts or dresses without something to cover my arms once I left the set," she wrote at the time. "When the show aired, I saw that my qualifications and explanations did not survive the cutting room."
On-air, Clinton and Stacey responded to her request to keep her wardrobe modest by reacting negatively to Bialik's choices in an attempt to get her to modernize her look. "It seems like she's uncomfortable with her body a little bit," Clinton observed while reviewing Bialik's pre-makeover clothing choices during the program. When they re-dressed her for the show, Stacey told Bialik her mission was to "unleash her inner sex goddess." The end result was a modernized but conservative wardrobe for Bialik, who went on to admit that she did eventually find the right middle ground between her own style and the new one offered up by the reality program.
Mayim Bialik admitted she had some mixed feelings about being on What Not To Wear
Even accounting for the multiple difficulties she faced on the show, Mayim Bialik admitted she got something valuable out of appearing on "What Not to Wear," in spite of finding the experience emotionally and physically exhausting.
"The way that they redid me, is that they helped me. I don't know much about what's trendy, I don't know much about fashion," Bialik told People Magazine in 2009. "They taught me about what to emphasize about my body, they gave me some easy ways to look good when I'm just hanging out – which is most of what I do – and they tried to work within my specific tastes." The sitcom star thanked the show's producers for eventually finding the right middle ground for her and admitted she incorporated some of the show's tips, tricks, and wardrobe changes into her style after appearing on the program. She also said that her friends and relatives had positive things to say about her appearance after the makeover as well.
She even added that she might continue to look for guidance from the show's hosts to line up further wardrobe choices. Bialik has since been scrutinized for her clothing during her controversial time as one of the hosts of "Jeopardy!," which just goes to show that beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.