Backhanded Compliments Quotes

• I will tell you that when I was heavy, people would say to me - and it was such a backhanded compliment - they would say, 'You've got such a beautiful face,' in the way of, like, 'Oh, isn't it a shame that from the neck down you're questionable.'

  Kate Winslet

  Beautiful, People, Way

  "Kate Winslet: Your #1 Most Glam". Interview with Skip Hollandsworth, www.glamour.com. February 28, 2011.

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• I find it to be the ultimate backhanded compliment when you are compared against yourself.

  Elvis Costello

  Compliment, Ultimate

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• She'd tell me how she'd handle the backhanded compliment by smiling and pretending she was receiving a genuine compliment all the while ignoring their attempt to be insulting. After all, it's the way an insult is received that makes it an insult. You can't really give offense unless someone takes it.

  Portia de Rossi

  Insults You, Giving, Insulting

  Portia de Rossi (2011). “Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain”, p.81, Simon and Schuster

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• "Dark Fantasy" was my long, backhanded apology. You know how people give a backhanded compliment? It was a backhanded apology. It was like, all these raps, all these sonic acrobatics. I was like: "Let me show you guys what I can do, and please accept me back. You want to have me on your shelves."

  Kanye West

  Rap, Dark, Apology

  "Kanye West New York Times Interview: Rapper Takes Back Taylor Swift Apology, Professes Love For Kim Kardashian", www.huffingtonpost.com. June 12, 2013.

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• My whole life story is kind of a backhanded compliment.

  Tori Spelling

  Stories, Kind, Compliment

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