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Females are uniting in defence of acclaimed star Zeta-Jones after she was targeted by scrutiny across platforms regarding her appearance at a recent red carpet appearance.

Zeta-Jones attended a promotional function in Los Angeles on 9 November where a TikTok interview discussing her role in the latest Wednesday was overshadowed by comments concerning her appearance.

Voices of Support

This year's Miss Great Britain Classic winner, Laura White, called the online criticism "utter foolishness", stating that "males escape this sell-by/use-by date imposed on women".

"Males escape such a timeline that women do," stated Laura White.

Author aged 50, Sali Hughes, stated differently from men, women were subject to unfair scrutiny for ageing and she ought to be at liberty to look however she liked.

Digital Backlash

During the interview, which was also posted on Facebook and attracted over 2.5 million views, Zeta-Jones, who is from Wales, discussed the pleasure of exploring her role, the Addams Family matriarch, in the latest season.

Yet a large portion of the hundreds of comments zeroed in on her age and were critical about her appearance.

The online backlash ignited significant support of the actor, featuring a widely-shared clip from a social media user which said: "You bully women if they undergo treatments and attack them for not having enough work."

Online users rallied in support, with one writing: "This is aging naturally and she looks stunning."

Others described her as "beautiful" and "lovely", with another adding that "she appears her age - that's called life."

Challenging Perceptions

The winner attended at the studio earlier with a bare face to make a statement and to demonstrate that there is no fixed "mold" of how a woman in her 50s should look like.

Similar to numerous females in her demographic, she said she "looks after herself" not to appear younger but in order to feel "well" and be "vibrant".

"Growing older is a privilege and when we live the best we can, that's what is important," she added.

She contended that men aren't judged by identical appearance ideals, noting "people don't ask how old Tom Cruise, George Clooney or Tom Jones might be - they simply are described as 'wonderful'."

She said it was a key factor behind her participation in Miss Great Britain's category for over-45s, in order to demonstrate that females of a certain age are still here" and "possess it".

A Fundamental Problem

Sali Hughes, a writer and commentator from Wales, said that although the actor is "beautiful" it was "not the point", stating further she deserves to be able to appear however she liked absent her years facing scrutiny.

She said the digital criticism proved not a single woman is "protected" and that women do not deserve the "perpetual story" which says they are not good enough or youthful enough - a problem that is "maddening, irrespective of the person involved".

Asked if males encounter the same scrutiny, she answered "no, never", adding women were targeted merely for demonstrating the "audacity" to live on social media as they age.

A Double Bind

Despite cosmetic companies advocating for "age-defiance", she commented females are still criticised if they age without intervention or chose interventions including cosmetic surgery or injectables.

"If you age gracefully, people say more could be done; when you have work done, people say you failing to age well," she added.