Last Thursday, Variety’s Owen Gleiberman published a piece critiquing plastic surgery in Hollywood, or, to put it more bluntly, he got mad at Renée Zellweger’s face in a recent Bridget Jones trailer. While Gleiberman is not the first to have a strong reaction to Zellweger’s looks, his response has drawn a scathing response from Rose McGowan in The Hollywood Reporter. In a guest column, she writes, “[Zellweger’s] crime, according to you, is growing older in a way you don’t approve of. Who are you to approve of anything? What you are doing is vile, damaging, stupid, and cruel. It also reeks of status quo white-male privilege.â€
McGowan, a longtime critic of sexism in Hollywood, goes on to argue that Gleiberman is “an active endorser of what is tantamount to harassment and abuse of actresses and women.†She discusses her experiences on Howard Stern, the death threats she received from fanboys, and the massive amount of abuse heaped upon her online. “Any studio that Renée Zellweger has made money for, any co-star she’s supported or anyone who takes a percentage of her income should be doing what’s right,†McGowan writes. “They should be calling this harassment out.â€