On Friday, Renee Zellweger appeared on the Today Show to do some advanced promotion for Bridget Jones’ Baby, which isn’t out until September, although the first trailer dropped last week. The trailer was met with mixed reaction… some were iffy about the introduction of Patrick Dempsey’s character, some were iffy about the plot, which features a paternity drama, and some were like, “I’ll see anything with Colin Firth, so this is for me.” Renee addressed the paternity drama stuff quickly, and as it turns out, they shot several different endings so even she doesn’t know who fathered Bridget’s baby. At the end of the interview, Renee gets asked an uncomfortable question though.
See… that kind of pisses me off AND I feel somewhat sorry for her. This isn’t a schadenfreude thing where I’m happy to see Renee get slammed by the media, but it’s difficult to feel genuinely sorry for her when she’s still playing this stupid-as-hell games about her very obvious plastic surgery. Renee came out a few years ago with an entirely new face, and everyone and their brother could see that she had gotten some very, very noticeable eye work and more. So when Today asked her, “I remember a couple of years ago people were talking about, ‘Oh, she changed her appearance.’ Does it bother you, does it get to you or is it just par for the course?”
“It’s not really part of my life. It’s part of the job, that I don’t really experience except when I step into this arena. In my home I’m not aware of it. I don’t do any kind of social media, so I don’t see it. I like to have – I guess you would call them real experiences.”
Girl, please. It wasn’t some social media snafu. Every media outlet – gossip and mainstream – ran those photos in 2014 and said something about how different she looked. If she doesn’t want to admit that she had work done, so be it, and I’m sorry that she’s in this uncomfortable position of not feeling like she can be honest about her work. But I hate these stupid games, especially in response to silly backdoor questions. The Today Show didn’t want to be “mean” and ask “So why did you feel the need to come back into the limelight with a new face?” So they ask her “how did it feel when everyone was like ‘She has a new face’?” And Renee’s answer is basically, “What? Who? Where? I’m too busy having ‘real experiences’ to care.”
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.
I’d LOVE to see a male actor get asked such personal questions (cough cough, Ben Affleck). It’ll never happen. God forbid a woman in her 40’s goes a little overboard on the botox and doesn’t want to talk about it.
Except injectables aren’t as dramatic of a change as eye surgery is. And it was her signature look. It’s still completely unfair. They called her squinty before, and slammed her for getting surgery after.
I have injections around my eyes and some in my forehead. My own mother couldn’t identify where the injections were. Injections are barely noticeable, surgery or Kardashian level of injections are the only way to really change your face.
@kcarp Exactly my point
You are right, man at least some can get away with it. But I am afraid this is only the beginning. She has problems it is obvious more than ageism and I just had a little something done. What’s next? Moreover, women go and see her new movie and kind of go down the same route like her just because of ageing.
The new Ben Affleck looks like a bad magazine photoshop. And you’re right, I thought I was taking crazy pills because no one was talking about it. I was like, am I imagining this? Is it just me?
I wish they would. Everyone talks about it but I don’t recall anyone asking Ben Affleck or Mickey Rourk about their faces, even though they had obviously had (strange) work done. But that’s how it is, women are judged on appearance, always.
What has been said about Zelwegger is nothing compared to what’s been said for decades about the “transformation” of Mickey Rourke. She had enough done that she was unrecognizable, of course people will talk.
I agree mostly except for Mickey Rourke. Everyone was talking about him and he is still a punchline. I think when the work is obvious and social media being what it is, stuff like this become a thing.
I know but where are the interview questions about it? Has he ever been asked to his face what the heck he did to it? That was my point. Of course we all laugh about it because how can you not, but has it ever been an interview topic for him?
I think that it’s because with women, the undercurrent to the question is felt to be vanity (which is a socially acceptable topic to nag women about… be beautiful but don’t spend too much time or money on it), whereas with men the undercurrent would be felt to be undermining their masculinity (since men aren’t supposed to care about their appearance or derive power from looking young and attractive).
The questioners know that it will make women interview subjects uncomfortable (something the public will enjoy), whereas it might make male interview subjects and their PR people hostile. I think social media will balance this out… hopefully over time, either women will be asked less about it, or men will be asked more about it.
I think she just had an eye job that was a little over ambitious. I was looking at Gisele’s eye job the other day and it kind of looked similar–the eyes look bigger (also, Gisele went up considerably in her cup size! I liked her pregnancy style a lot and used to pin her pics and wow, she went from basically flat to a D, maybe. OT sorry).
I think she also did something with either her cheeks or chin. Her cheeks look even more padded, even though she’s older and weighs less. And her face somehow looks longer.
Nah, I disagree. Google Renee Z before and after images–a lot of them are the same distance from her face so it’s the same size/shape
I think she isn’t super thin like she has been at times (she would’ve needed to be bigger for Bridget J anyway) and it’s age. She went away for 5 years or something, then she made an appearance with an eye job that made the whole middle of her face look different.
Really look at her in the chin area though. It’s a different shape.
A bit of filler here and there with conservative botox are fine on most women. IT’s the blue plate special of an itty bitty nose, blow up doll lips, chicken cutlet cheeks and brats doll eyes that make a woman look more circus than lovely. My theory is that a woman gets one plastic surgery with opiate delusion then starts a reconstruction binge; the results are irreversible and sad.
Gisele, flat? really?
http://49.media.tumblr.com/1f9f70e61f3098af1400dc39db145040/tumblr_mus5bwuSrK1qcah0do1_r3_500.gif
(from McQueen’s S/S 1998 show, she would have been all of 17 years old there…. THAT is flat?)
got caught in moderation, but Gisele most definitely was not flat to begin with. One look at the McQueen ‘Golden Showers’ show from 1998 should be enough proof, she was 17 years old there and as good as topless.
Of course, she probably got hers done post-pregnancy but she had quite the rack even without it.
I’m pretty sure G has had numerous breast surgeries over the years. She started out flat, then she got into Victoria’s Secret modeling and suddenly got large. Then when she really hit it big, she seemed to be more moderate.
The reason I noticed is because I was creeping her pregnancy style when I was pregnant but after she already had her 2 kids. So current photos kept popping up, a lot of them bikini pics, and I noticed that her boobs seemed gone. Then a year ago when she apparently had a boob job in Paris–wow. Recent bikini pics of her show she’s quite large again.
There are a number of black bikini pics of her from several years ago where I’d put her at an A/B cup. Definitely not the case now (more like a big C/D).
This silly site has a collection of older pics: https://2ny121asil.wordpress.com/tag/cirugia-plastica-nariz
@Greenieweenie – late, but those McQueen pics are from 1997 – YEARS before she made it to Victoria’s Secret in 2000, and before she even made it to a Vogue cover – in fact it was that very show that was her breakout.
I don’t doubt she’s had boob jobs subsequently, but the ones in that 1997 pic? Are very much homegrown, so to speak.
Even my husband, who can’t differentiate one celebrity from another and can barely remember people’s names (and so makes up his own names for them) saw those photos a few years back and said: ‘Hey! What did Squinty do to her face?’
Squinty. Because those eyes of hers.
So, c’mon Renee. C’mon.
This. Although I’m torn between knowing that her appearance is none of my business & having my intelligence insulted by her lame denials.
This! It isn’t our business but at the same time, stop frickin’ lying about something so obvious.
As for the “I prefer real experiences….” really? This coming from an actress. Okaaaay.
Her appearance may not be our business, but it is her business because she’s an actress and people know her by her face. We humans are very in tune to facial expressions because we are social animals, so we notice face work.
She can do what she wants to with her face, of course, but pretending it didn’t happen is…odd? Off the cuff? I worked with this woman who got pregnant, but if you acknowledged it in any way she would get furious. So we just pretended there was no giant bump. Her business, not mine, but was really strange.
You don’t think the fact she’s always been so widely abused for the way she looks naturally might possibly explain why she’s reluctant to discuss it now?
Exactly. She was and is in a no win situation. I feel for her in all this. I think she looks fine either way, but as someone with congenital droopy lids, I can understand wanting to have them done.
Very good point. And I thought she handled/deflected it well, saying it’s part of her job. That covers a lot of ground, from speculation about her looks to having surgery. And that’s fine, she doesn’t owe people any more than that.
Exactly! She was damned if she did, damned if she didn’t.
I really hate how society treats women sometimes.
She did experience a higher than normal amount of derision for her looks and as she aged her eyes probably almost disappeared. I think she’s afraid to acknowledge anything for fear of more nastiness. I feel a bit sorry for her.
I thought maybe she had that surgery where they remove excess eye skin because it droops into your line of vision. She does look different but I can’t put my finger on how. I don’t think it matters though, I think she looks better now!
That should have been her excuse–just own up to it and claim that her heavy eyelids were affecting her eyesight. That was my sister’s excuse for her eye lift, and I’ll prpbably wind up having it done eventually, too. It could be like all the actresses who get nose jobs for a ‘deviated septum.’
That is pretty much it, my mom just had it. She is in her mid-70s and she said the difference in her eyesight is amazing. And I think she looks the same — my kids didn’t notice a difference at all — while she thinks she looks drastically altered.
I don’t know why she didn’t explain that either. I would imagine it was legitimate, her eyesight had to have been affected, so IMO she should have said yes, it was for medical reasons, and left it at that. Denying it the way she has been is odd, but if she doesn’t want to talk about it, that’s her right.
Her new eyes were a mistake. It took some time to get used to her old face, but it grew on you and became her charm. Then she totally obliterates that with a generic face that’s too taut and bland.
Affleck too touched his eyes and made a mess of things. For all that’s good and holy, never touch the eyes!!!
Too bad Hugh Grant didn’t sign on for this. I would’ve watched it no matter how Batman v Supermanny it turned out to be. Bridget Jones, or better said, Daniel v Mark is my kryptonite.
–TheRealPinky
This is one of those cases where a whole herd of elephants are in the room. I mean, come on! I would have been so pissed at the doctor who had done the original work, I would have named him! j’accuse, you face-destroyer! But she looks alot better now.
Hahaha, j’accuse! Good one
Yeah… Nah. She looks absolutely nothing like Renee Zelweger. I don’t think this movie should even have been made, because she’s not believable as a character she played over a decade ago. If she wants to jack her entire face (which, come on, she did– her whole face is new) that’s her prerogative, but own your sh!t. You’re no better than anyone else, you’re not exempt from scrutiny. Just own your sh!t.
It’s weird because she could easily go with the, “I had hooded eyes that eventually become a physical problem when you age so I had surgery to correct it” route.
She chooses to remain in the public eye, so questions are going to be asked. Her word salad deflections could be handled better, IMO. She took a passive aggressive little slam at social media instead of answering the question.
People beyond social media noticed the change, and a few still wonder why she claimed ‘fraud’ to end her quickie marriage.
They can deny it till the cows come home but once you’ve gone the Joan Rivers route, ala Courtney Cox, Meg Ryan, Jennifer Grey to name a few, there’s no going back. She is getting older obviously so she doesn’t look as strange. Those eyes of hers, I guess they were what made her unique. None of these women looked better after their procedures. The true successes of plastic surgery, fillers, whatever, is when people think they may have but are not absolutely certain as In the ladies above. It must be tiring explaining…….oh vanity
I loved her as an actress, I was fascinated by the first BJ and how she gained weight and stuff. but something seriously broke her down, to do this with her face. I could hardly recognise her so being shy about the obvious really doesn’t help. She needs to do some soulsearch because it will be only worse.
I have a friend who is a behaviorist. We were watching T.V. and happened upon an interview of Renee. My friend said she has some serious self-consciousness problems. He said her body language was giving off-the-charts insecurity vibes….like she was trying to curl up inside herself and hide. Hmmm…..
I think when anybody goes out and comes back with a different face, it is not about ageing. Your friend is right, she has lost herself somehow. I wish I could talk to her and tell her to be herself as it is. Like in the first movie, that’s what Darcy told Bridget.
One of my friends is a big Bridget/Renee fan. Her perception is that RZ seemed odd/quirky, but within the past few years, my friend also thinks she has some deeper issues.
How about the fairytale wedding followed by the annulment for “fraud” within months to man who is rumored to be closeted? Then a relationship with another HW player also rumored to be closeted?
Whatever happened there, she started fading from the scene after Cinderella Man in 2005. That film was kind of her last big hurrah, and then the Kenny Chesney thing hit, followed by a “relationship” with Bradley Cooper. In the mean time, the work started to slow way down from 2005-2010 before she kind of disappeared altogether in 2011.
Whatever the reason for that relationship ending (and I have my suspicions), that alone would shake my self-confidence as a woman and fill me with self-doubt. Couple that with a career decline around the same time, and it would be my undoing.
I remember seeing her in an interview a few years back and her eyes were so squinted that I was wondering how it was possible to see out of them. They weren’t always like that if you look at photos from when she was younger so I thought she must have had too much botox and her eyes got stuck half closed. Either that and she stopped the botox or there was some sort of medical condition that she got fixed. Her face has wrinkles and movement so apart from the very obviously different eyes there doesn’t seem to be anything else done.
In saying that I can’t imagine how it must feel to have people question your changing face. It’s a fair question when sitting in front of somebody who now looks like somebody else but it must be very hurtful and embarrassing. I know I’d go home devastated and cry so I feel sorry for her.
I agree. No one would want bad plastic surgery.
Why don’t men get asked these questions in interviews? Tom Cruise for example.
I DO feel sorry for Rene. To stay active as an actress you have to erase all signs of aging, unless you are a goddess like Meryl Streep. And the scrutiny of the changes has got to be hard to deal with. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. And I think she had her eyes done because they were SO hooded, and those kinds of eyelids will start impeding your eyesight as you age. I know many people who have had the surgery because of that very issue.
I would LOVE to see someone ask Tom next time he gets “refreshed”. I think he’d do that weird clenched jaw smile and not say anything for a long time.
She looks better IMO.
I found it interesting to compare the reaction to the photos of Renee looking different (down to whatever it was) and the Vanity Fair Caitlyn Jenner cover. One was stunning and brave, flawless queen, etc, the other was sad and vain and deluded. I wonder which was which?
I think if she ditched the tan and went back to being pale and got rid of the dirty dull blonde look and had more golden highlights in her hair and stopped with the messy hair look she would look like Renee. Whatever she did to her eyes, she still has creppy eyelids, no full lids, just not as squinty. Maybe just botox to lip them open a little bit.
I don’t need to know what she did.
Seriously! You are right! She always looks like she needs a shower!
I have to say, her new face is much less noticeable in motion. I still think she looks different in still shots, but in that video clip she just looked like herself to me, albeit a bit tweaked.
Part of her charm was her offbeat but lovely face. Now she looks pulled, plastic, and generic.
Sad.
I feel sorry for the creators of the movie. Because looking at the trailer it doesn’t feel like the continuation of the story. She looks so different it is hard to see Bridget in her. Feels like a spin off with a new leading lady
She looks like a different person.
The eyes were part of her signature look..
I agree. While bigger eyes may have seemed like a good idea the work she did aged her. She doesn’t look the same at all.
that last posted photo is giving me Robin Wright vibes.
I am obsessed with this face. I CANNOT figure out what she had done that makes her look so different, but different she does look. Shockingly different. Almost unrecognizable. If she didn’t want this; it is tragic. I read all the comments, and Jayna, her new tan doesn’t become her. Her pale skin and red lips were beautiful: Dani, I agree that her work aged her. I couldn’t believe someone would get so much work done, so as to look like a new person, and still look older. I keep wanting her to comb her eyebrows: and finally Soane Y, yes!! I kept staring at her chin (and face trying to figure what was done), and it is a different chin, not as pointed, more square, and her face is longer, actually more masculine. Her face before was feminine and maybe heart-shaped – a pretty face. Now she looks more masculine, older, messier eyebrows, with cheek implants, that look different from the old apples of her cheeks. I’m horrified. And sad, because I liked her. Wish she liked herself. I think I am more amazed at her than I have been at anybody since Meg Ryan. Still think she could look comely if she would fix those awful eyebrows, wear pale makeup and red lipstick. But then, I love maquillage; and that look in particular. Who are these plastic surgeons? They are not aestheticians. Someone should have said NO to the chin. It remakes her face. And of course the eyes. And they look so sad. I have seen pictures of her new face where she looks more wide-eyed, and then some where her eyes are slits.
I went to get my eyelids done five years ago. I have deep set eyes with puffiness below my right brow. My plastic surgeon explained to me that I would look different after the op as she would have to create more upper lid. Then she was surprised when I cancelled the surgery. Apparently many people think that is just fine to not look like yourself, and yes, I live LA.
Oh, God! It attacked her brain too :0
Women just can’t win. If we’re beautiful at youth, we feel pressured to fight the age effects. If we’ve always been ugly, we feel pressured to buy a new face, like her. Sad.