Demi Moore’s Face Drama Is Nothing New: She is just another female celebrity who can’t win.
Let’s talk about ageing in Hollywood. Specifically, women ageing in Hollywood.
We know this is a zero-sum game for them. They’re damned if they get plastic surgery and damned if they don’t. Either way, the media will report on how they look “unrecognisable.” (My thoughts on that toxic word over here.)
This week was just another reminder of how hard it is to be an ageing woman in Hollywood. And, if it’s hard for them, imagine how it is for everyday women.
Here is what happened with Demi Moore’s face.
We know Demi Moore: Ghost, St. Elmo’s Fire, Striptease. This woman is as legendary as they come.
Recently, this 58-year-old actress got to walk in the Fendi show fulfilling — in her words — “a teenage dream.” That’s where all the trouble came in.
Where it all began; A Young Demi Moore
Twitter was in an uproar about her face as she walked down the runway. Here are just a few of the gross comments made about her (compiled by The Daily Mail):
- “WTF happened to Demi Moore.”
- “Demi Moore unfortunately who used to be beautiful is now just a poster child for why not to get plastic surgery.”
- “I wish women would allow themselves to age gracefully.”
There are a number of explanations for why she appeared differently from her recent social media posts. For one, she’s not smiling on the catwalk, and she’s smiling all over her Instagram. Also, she was in a runway show. Those shows are known to have wild makeup or hair.
While some people speculated this was just poor contouring, most jumped straight to the plastic-surgery-gone-wrong narrative.
Actresses have to stay looking young in order to get roles.
So, why are women in Hollywood getting plastic surgery in the first place? Because Hollywood values beauty, of course. And if they want to stay relevant or continue to work, they need to meet the high standards of beauty set for them.
A study based on 2019 films found that women over 50 had zero leading roles and males over 50+ outnumbered them on-screen 2-to-1. Actors like Emma Thompson have spoken out about this issue. Reese Witherspoon created a production company almost exclusively to bring more dynamic female roles to the screen.
“It was getting laughable,” Reese told Fast Company in 2018, “how bad the parts were, particularly for women over 35.”
So, are we surprised by plastic surgery? No. But if we can tell that a female celebrity has had plastic surgery, well, then they “messed up their face.”
Demi Moore is not the first to be dragged for her alleged plastic surgery.
In 2014, Renee Zellweger made headlines for — you guessed it — her face. Here are a few of the headlines for you:
- “What happened to Bridget Jones face?”
- “Is that you, Renee Zellweger?”
- “What HAS Renee Zellweger done to her face?”
The tabloids picked apart her appearance, even interviewing plastic surgeons to weigh in on what might have “happened to her.” It was disgusting.
Years later, Zellweger said to New York Magazine, “Nothing like an international humiliation to set your perspective right!”
This is only one of many examples. There’s Jennifer Grey, whose nose job, in many ways, cost her career. Courteney Cox — who faced a ton of criticism — recently removed her fillers. Melanie Griffith reversed many of her procedures after facing backlash.
The list goes on and on and will continue to go on.
Stop blaming the actresses. Start blaming the system.
The language around these actresses is very telling. Allow me to explain:
- “What has she done to her face?” Yes, she’s the one paying for these services, but she is not the doctor here. That’s like saying “what have you done to yourself?” when you take a prescription that you have an allergic reaction to.
- “She’s unrecognisable.” I’ve made my feelings about this word known, but let’s be clear: people use this if it’s just natural ageing or altered ageing. If your face isn’t identical to what it once was in a movie or show, then you’re basically a completely different person.
- “Used to be beautiful.” Could this be any clearer? We value beauty… young beauty.
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
How do we fix this problem?
We need to shift the narrative on ageing. We need more movies and TV shows with leading women who are 50+. We need to celebrate women as they age and redefine what “ageing gracefully” means. If you’re ageing, congrats. You’re alive. And that’s f*cking beautiful.
