Jennifer Love Hewitt is addressing the pressures of aging in the spotlight. The former Ghost Whisperer star, 44, recalled during a new episode of the “Inside of You” podcast that fans thought she looked “unrecognizable” after she debuted a new hairstyle in September.
“Aging in Hollywood is really hard. You can’t do anything right,” Jennifer pointed out before recalling that she got a brand-new hairdo and wanted to post a picture of the look to social media.
“I was getting my hair done, and I had not a stitch of makeup on. So, I threw on a filter. I really gave it no thought,” the I Know What You Did Last Summer actress said. “A bunch of people were like, ‘Jennifer Love Hewitt is unrecognizable.’ ‘She’s unrecognizable, so she’s gone to filters because she doesn’t want us to know how bad she actually looks now in her 40s.'”
Jennifer also remembered that people weighed in by claiming, “‘Well, now she’s just defending herself and why is she defending?’ I realized I can do no right,” she concluded on the podcast. While it would be preferable to simply ignore the online bullies, Jennifer pointed out that she still pays attention to the scrutiny, noting, “To pretend that we don’t is a lie.”
Celebrities, primarily women, have faced a long history of facing harsh criticism over their physical appearance. Some have normalized going makeup or filter-free, including Jennifer and, most recently, model Pamela Anderson.
In September, Jennifer reshared the photos of herself via her Instagram Stories and wrote, “So many people said I look different. I look the same as always. Couldn’t look more natural … Filters don’t change you that much.”
Jennifer followed up on her statement by also slamming rumors that she had a brow lift, noting in a separate video that she doesn’t “usually” respond to these claims.
“But I’ve had a lot of people lately say that I’ve had a brow-lifting procedure,” she explained at the time. “I didn’t even know you could lift your brows like that. The only thing that I’ve done is microblading with Audrey, who I love.”