Jennifer Love Hewitt recently spoke about aging in the public eye during an appearance on the Inside of You podcast with Michael Rosenbaum. Responding to criticism from fans about her appearance (particularly after she revealed a new dark bob on Instagram in seemingly filtered selfies), the 9-1-1 star, 44, dismissed claims that she looked “unrecognizable.”
“Aging in Hollywood is really hard,” Hewitt said in the discussion with host Rosenbaum, 51. “It’s really hard because you can’t do anything right.”
Jennifer Love Hewitt Gets Real About 'Aging In Hollywood' In New Podcast Discussion
The Criminal Minds actress addressed the negative reaction and scrutiny that ensued after sharing a photo of her new hairstyle in late 2023. "I was getting my hair done and I had not a stitch of makeup on so I threw on a filter," she recalled. Hewitt continued: "It was just a filter that at the time, looked nice in the light at the salon. I really gave it no thought."
After she uploaded the shot, Hewitt noted that "a bunch of people were like, 'Jennifer Love Hewitt is unrecognizable.'" The Client List actress went on: "And then another place was like, 'She's unrecognizable and so she's gone to filters because she doesn't want us to know how bad she actually looks now in her 40s,' and I was like, 'This is crazy right?'"
The I Know What You Did Last Summer star then retaliated against her haters by posting additional photos with "over-the-top, crazy" exaggerated filters, which resulted in an increased level of animosity towards her. "I was like, 'All natural, no filter,' like trying to make fun of it, and then they came after me for that and they were like, 'Well, now she's just defending herself,'" she added. "And I realized, I was like, 'I can do no right.'"
Rosenbaum then asked Hewitt why she even pays any mind to "people who have nothing better to do than to put you down." She replied: "Because to pretend that we don't is a lie." She also pointed out that many fans on social media (especially those who are around the same age as her) are positive and supportive: "I will say the majority of people have been very kind to me. They've grown up with me. They look like I do now." Hewitt added: "We're all getting lines and maybe in menopause and who knows what else is coming for us."
Because of her 10-year-old daughter Autumn, Hewitt said she feels compelled to acknowledge negative comments about her appearance, despite her efforts to ignore them. She shares Autumn with her husband Brian Hallisay, as well as 8-year-old son Atticus and 2-year-old son Aidan. Hewitt told Rosenbaum that she believes the "only reason those people bother me" is because "I'm a mother of a girl."
Hewitt went on: "It's dangerous what we put on people. It's dangerous, I think, to say to women, 'You can't look like you're not 22 to me anymore because I don't know how to take that.'" She continued: "Because I'm 44, and this is what I look like."
In addition, Hewitt remembered her career beginnings, introduction to Hollywood and feeling insecure in her 20s as she skyrocketed to fame in the 90s. "At 23, 24, 25, I didn't feel self-confident," she recalled. "I felt watched. I felt like I had to be everything for everybody all the time. I was called sexy before I ever knew what being sexy was."
Hewitt elaborated: "Like, I was 17 years old on the on the cover of Maxim, and I had no idea why I was on the cover of Maxim." She added: "That girl was so insecure and so confused and trying her best."
