Jennifer Love Hewitt is recalling the "gross" and "inappropriate" media attention she received as an up-and-coming actor.
At the start of her career, the "Party of Five" star received widespread attention for her body, which she says led to her being objectified by the media. Speaking with Vulture, Hewitt admitted she would spend most of her interviews answering questions about her breasts. Watching the New York Times' "Framing Britney Spears," which in part focuses on the media's treatment of Spears and other stars, caused all those memories to come flooding back to her.
"It’s interesting, I just watched the Britney Spears documentary, and there’s that whole section in there talking about her breasts," Hewitt said. "At the time that I was going through it, and interviewers were asking what now would be incredibly inappropriate, gross things, it didn’t feel that way. I mean, I was in barely any clothing the whole movie. For some reason, in my brain, I was able to just go, 'Okay, well, I guess they wouldn’t be asking if it was inappropriate'."
The 42-year-old mom of one explained that the attention began after she was cast in 1997's "I Know What You Did Last Summer." In one scene, the actor is wearing a low cut top. After the movie's release, her breasts were often brought into conversations by journalists.
"At a press junket for 'I Know or I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,' I remember purposely wearing a T-shirt that said 'Silicone Free' on it because I was so annoyed, and I knew something about boobs was gonna be the first question out of [reporters’] mouths," she explained. "I was really tired of that conversation. With 'Heartbreakers,' that was a big part of it. I was disappointed that it was all about body stuff, because I had really worked hard in that movie to do a good job as an actress."
Looking back, Hewitt admitted she wished she had defended herself or just refused to answer the questions. Instead, she would laugh it off despite feeling frustrated and hurt. Watching "Framing Britney Spears" reminded her of those emotions she felt for not being recognized as an actor.
"The conversation for a very long time in my career was always about [my body] first — then, 'Oh yeah, you were really great in the movie, too,' later. I didn’t get it," she said. "That’s just what I looked like, and I was doing my job. I just started to [prepare myself], like, I know I’m doing an interview today, so I’m pretty sure at least 20 of the 40 minutes is going to be about boobs and body stuff, so we’ll just get that out of the way and then maybe they’ll ask me something else."
Hewitt added that she could now appreciate how things have changed in the past few years.
"I’m really grateful that we’re in a time where, hopefully, that narrative is going to change for young girls who are coming up now, and they won’t have to have those conversations," she said.
In a 2013 interview, Hewitt also opened up about the media’s attention, explaining that she was working on loving herself because Hollywood could be ruthless when it came to how women looked.
"I’m an actress, I live in L.A., I work in Hollywood. But I’ve learned that if you’re too skinny, they’ll say something about it," she said. "If you’re not skinny enough, they’ll say something about it. I just try to feel good in my own skin as much as I can."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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