Charlize Theron claims she was misquoted over 'pretty people get turned away first' comments
'Context is everything', actress says
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Your support makes all the difference.Charlize Theron has accused a magazine of misquoting her in a recent interview where she attracted a backlash by appearing to suggest “pretty people” can struggle to get jobs in Hollywood.
In an interview with GQ earlier this month, the actress, who appeared on the cover, was quoted as saying: “Jobs with real gravitas go to people that are physically right for them and that’s the end of the story. How many roles are out there for the gorgeous, f***ing, gown-wearing eight-foot model? When meaty roles come through, I’ve been in the room and pretty people get turned away first.”
The comments didn't exactly provoke empathy given Theron’s wealth, acting credentials, successful modelling background and appearance.
When asked about these comments at the premiere of her new film, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Theron dismissed them an “incredible misquote” and sought to clarify what she says she actually meant.
“It was such an incredible misquote, I’m somewhat shocked by how it got so misquoted,” she told Access Hollywood.
“What I was really trying to say was, people always ask me ‘why do I always play so many characters that are so deconstructed?’ and my point with that was how many characters really are there out there for a woman wearing a gown? I mean you have to play real people.
“Context is everything and if somebody doesn’t really get that or it doesn’t translate, people can really read stuff so wrongly,” she said.
She was also asked about the comments by Extra TV. Saying she didn’t want to blame anybody, Theron concluded it was probably a “huge misunderstanding”.
But seeking to further clarify the comments, she drew on her experiences as a model, “I have always been honest that when I was a model 20 years ago, it was hard to walk into a room and I had to prove myself in a way that today, I’m so lucky I’m in a place that I don’t have to. And I’m grateful for that too because it gives you character and it makes you who you are and you don’t want everything to come easy.”
“It was rough, it was rough reading that,” she said.
The Independent has contacted GQ for comment.
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