Women rally behind Catherine Zeta-Jones against age-shaming backlash

Oscar-winning actor Catherine Zeta-Jones has received an outpouring of support after facing a barrage of critical and age-shaming comments on social media regarding her appearance at a recent Netflix event.

The 56-year-old Welsh actor attended an event for the Wednesday series in Los Angeles in November. An interview snippet discussing her role as Morticia Addams quickly amassed over 2.5 million views, but many of the hundreds of comments swiftly turned disparagingly towards her age and looks.

This online abuse sparked widespread defense from women, highlighting the pervasive double standard surrounding female aging. Laura White, 58, and this year’s winner of Miss Great Britain Classic, called the backlash "complete nonsense," arguing that "men don't have this sell-by/use-by date that women do." White noted that male stars like Tom Cruise or George Clooney are simply deemed to look "great," while women are relentlessly scrutinized.

Beauty journalist Sali Hughes, 50, echoed this sentiment, stating the online abuse proves no woman is "immune" from the constant, unfair judgment over age. Hughes stressed that regardless of how "gorgeous" Zeta-Jones is, the point is she should be free to look however she likes without scrutiny.

The commentary cycle is inescapable, Hughes argued: "If you age naturally, people say you should do more; if you get work done, you're accused of not aging gracefully enough." This traps women in a "galling" narrative that they are never "young enough."

White, who appeared makeup-free for a radio interview to "prove a point," emphasized that aging is a privilege and midlife women are "still here" and "still have it." The rally behind Zeta-Jones underscores a growing intolerance for the outdated and misogynistic standards that unfairly target women for the simple "audacity" of growing older in the public eye.