Being overweight is no laughing matter, but Sir Charles Barkley and his cohorts over at Weight Watchers clearly think some of us need to lighten up -- literally and figuratively.

The former NBA star and perpetual jokester was photographed wearing a halter dress and heels for a new ad campaign aimed at men.

In the "Lose Like A Man" TV spot, slated to air on April 8, Barkley pledges to do anything necessary to get the attention of men and to get them on board with losing weight, Weight Watchers says. His message: Dieting is NOT just for women, a point he drives home with his own weight-loss success story, having shed some 42 pounds (and counting) since signing on as a spokesperson for the program last year.

Barkley's Weight Watchers endorsement came into question when he was caught calling the program a scam during a TNT broadcast in January.

Weight Watchers later released a statement "forgiving" Barkley of the remarks, however, and agreeing that the cushy arrangement was indeed a "pretty great gig."

Barkley, who, according to Weight Watchers, is continuing with the plan, has been spotted playing dress-up before. In 2010 he donned a wig, sat at a piano, and did his best Alicia Keys impersonation for an episode of Saturday Night Live.

Jennifer Hudson had just put an Oscar on her mantle when the opportunity for more gold came knocking. Unfortunately, its companion, massive weight gain, made sure the chance didn't get in the door.

Following her win for Best Supporting Actress for the 2006 film "Dreamgirls," the American Idol winner says that she asked by director Lee Daniels to read for the title part in the film "Precious." The role, an abused and overweight daughter, was appealing, but the physical strain it present was not.

"I had done that with Effie... and as much as I was moved by this film," Hudson writes in her new book, "I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down" (via Uptown Magazine). "I wanted to try a role that had nothing whatsoever to do with my weight."
As Daniels told it in 2009, that helped put him in a bind.

"We were weeks away from the shoot but I still hadn't found Precious," he told The Guardian. "Do you know how difficult it is to find a 300lb black girl to be great in a movie? They don't exist in Hollywood."

As it turned out, Gabby Sidibe, New Yorker and college student, cut class to audition at an open casting call. The rest -- including an Oscar nomination for Sibide -- is history. That includes one side effect for Sibide that would not have plagued Hudson.