Women Rally Behind Catherine Zeta-Jones Amidst Age-Related Remarks

Females are uniting behind acclaimed star Catherine Zeta-Jones after she faced disparaging remarks across platforms regarding her looks following a industry function.

She appeared at an industry gathering in Los Angeles recently during which an online segment discussing her role in the latest the 'Wednesday' show was overshadowed due to comments about her looks.

Widespread Backing

This year's Miss Great Britain Classic winner, Laura White, called the online criticism "utter foolishness", adding that "men don't have such a timeline that women do".

"Men don't have this sell-by/use-by date imposed on women," said Ms White.

Author Sali Hughes, 50, stated differently from men, females are subject to unfair scrutiny as they age and the actor deserves to be free to look however she liked.

Online Reaction

In the video, also shared to social media and garnered more than 2.5m views, Zeta-Jones, who is from Mumbles, Swansea, discussed the pleasure of portraying her character, the Addams Family matriarch, in the new episodes.

But a large portion of the numerous remarks centered on her age and were negative regarding her looks.

The negative remarks sparked widespread defence for the actor, including a popular post online which said: "People criticize females for having cosmetic procedures and attack them when they don't have enough work."

Commenters also rallied in support, with one writing: "This is aging naturally and she is gorgeous."

Others described her as "stunning" and "lovely", while someone else said that "she appears her age - which is simply life."

Making a Point

The winner attended at the studio recently with a bare face to make a statement and to show that there is no fixed "template" for what a woman in midlife is supposed to look.

Like many women of her years, she stated she "maintains her wellbeing" not to appear younger but in order to feel "improved" and look "in good health".

"Growing older is a gift and if we can live as well as possible, that's what really matters," she stated further.

She contended that men aren't subject to identical aesthetic benchmarks, stating "no-one questions how old certain male celebrities are - they just are described as 'fantastic'."

She said this was part of the motivation for entering the pageant's division for women over 45, to prove that females of a certain age remain relevant" and "still have it".

Unfair Scrutiny

The author, a journalist from Wales, said that while Zeta-Jones was "beautiful" it was "not the point", adding she ought to be at liberty to look as she wishes without her age being scrutinised.

She said the online abuse demonstrated not a single woman is "protected" and that females should not face the "constant narrative" that they are lacking or young enough - an issue that is "galling, irrespective of the person involved".

Asked if men experience identical criticism, she said "not at all", noting females are targeted merely for showing "boldness" to live on social media while growing older.

A Double Bind

Even with the beauty industry promoting "age-defiance", Hughes said females are still face criticism regardless of if they grow older gracefully or underwent treatments including plastic surgery or injections.

"Should you grow older naturally, others claim you should do more; if you undergo work done, people say you trying too hard," she added.