It’s no secret female celebrities have a lot to deal with when it comes to their looks in between pressure to be thin and youthful and having their appearance constantly be a topic scrutinized by the media. While some may argue that being questioned about one’s looks is totally fair game, there is a time and context for that, and as Jane Fonda spectacularly proved, it’s neither the right time nor the right place to be called out on it while on a promotional tour to discuss your upcoming movie with your male costar (especially, after said male costar was given plenty of airtime to discuss his work with no questioning about how he keeps himself looking good).
Fonda is starring in a new film, Our Souls at Night, and went on Megyn Kelly’s Today show with costar Robert Redford. The interview started off with Fonda and Redford talking about their film and then took a sharp turn into awkward territory when Kelly started asking Fonda about her history with plastic surgery.
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“You’ve been an example to everyone in how to age beautifully and with strength and unapologetically,” Kelly said. “You admit you’ve had work done, which I think is to your credit and you look amazing. Why did you say, I read that you said, that you’re not proud to admit you had work done. Why not?”
After a beat of stunned silence, Fonda replies “We really want to talk about that right now?”
Kelly continued the line of questioning, repeating that Fonda looked amazing, and the actress sidestepped with “Good attitude, good posture, take care of myself. But let me tell you why I love this movie, Our Souls at Night, rather than plastic surgery.”
In a follow up interview with ET Canada, Fonda says, “Given the fact that we don’t have a lot of time and Robert Redford is right here, it’s a weird thing to bring up, whether I’ve had plastic surgery or not. I have and I’ve talked about it. Seemed like the wrong time and place to ask that question.”
Redford adds, “I think she didn’t want to have the show turn into about her, her surgery or her look. It was about the quality of the performance.”
Kudos to Fonda for staring down ageism and reminding all that she’s who she is, first and foremost, because of her talents.
