Drew Barrymore used to be “scared” of aligning herself with feminism when she was younger.
Over the years, the 50 First Dates star has not only carved out a career for herself as an actress and producer, but also found success as a cosmetics entrepreneur with her company Flower Beauty.
But even though Drew may appear to epitomise a feminist, she has now shared that she took a long time to get to grips with the idea, and now supports causes that genuinely empower women.
“I was a bit scared of feminism when I was younger because of all the male bashing,” she said in an interview with U.K. Glamour magazine. “And there are a lot of women’s movements now that I’m apprehensive about, because I don’t want to be viscerally angry at men. I love men. I like keeping both sides in mind. I avoid anything political, where I sense too much anger. It’s just not the way I find messaging to be truly empowering.”
Drew went on to explain that she plans to instil similar messages in her daughters Olive, six, and Frankie, four, who she shares with ex-husband Will Kopelman.
And as Olive is now around the same age she was when she appeared in blockbuster movie E.T., the star reflected on the advice she would give herself as a child.
“I would try to tell her how everything’s going to be O.K. ¬– but she just won’t know it till she’s there anyway,” the 43-year-old noted.
Meanwhile, Drew is gearing up to appear in her forthcoming comedy feature The Stand-In, where she plays a disaffected comedy actress as well as her ambitious stand-in.
Despite tackling two roles, the Hollywood veteran is up for the challenge, especially as she often ponders what it would be like to swap identities with other people.
"What I'm saying is, I'm stuck here unless I want to move into a bomb shelter. So, I've made peace with this,” she sighed in a recent chat on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “However, there is a secret side of me that would totally love to (shoot off) and go through life not knowing what any of this is like. So, maybe this is my chance."
