When a reporter asked Christina Hendricks how she felt about being a role model to “full-figured” women, the “Mad Men” actress was rendered speechless for a moment.

Kate Waterhouse, fashion editor for the Sydney-based news source the Sun Herald , might not have thought she would be offending the actress with her question, but the fact is, “full-figured” can mean a lot of things. While Hendricks has been called “curvy” and “shapely”–which tend to be more flattering–the term full-figured has become a loaded word with the U.S. media. Several actresses and other celebrity figures have spoken out recently about society’s tendency to label women, which often causes body-image issues. Salma Hayek has said she refuses to bow to the pressure of Hollywood to fit a certain mold, saying that women these days feel they have to change their shape so badly, they are looking more and more like boys rather than females.

It’s possible that Waterhouse meant her words to be flattering, but Christina obviously didn’t think so; it’s been reported that as soon as the interview was over, she told her publicist that calling her full-figured “was just rude.”

As a curvy woman in Hollywood, it must be extremely difficult for her to withstand both the pressure to fit into a particular size range and to make people see her as an actress, not just as a lovely redhead with a big bust. It’s comments like those that make things that much more difficult to exist in the most superficial business there is. Personally, aside from my love for her “Mad Men” character, I think Christina is one of the most gorgeous creatures on the planet and I applaud her curves.