Famke Janssen struck back at some insensitive comments made by Russell Crowe, who should really know better.
The Gladiator star made a classic mistake in insulting older women trying to be younger women.
“I think you’ll find that the woman who is saying that [the roles have dried up] is the woman who at 40, 45, 48, still wants to play the ingénue,” Crowe said.
He continued, “And can’t understand why she’s not being cast as the 21-year-old.”
Yep, he went there. But, some of the Hollywood ladies in the category mentioned above aren’t taking his comments very lightly.
Famke Janssen said on Wednesday night’s red carpet for the New York City Taken 3 premiere, “That’s interesting, I don’t remember him being female.”
Janssen, the 50-year-old actress who has always looked younger than her age, went on to expand on how she sees women in Hollywood today.
“When you compare it to the 1920s and ’30s, it’s a shame what’s happened since then. That was the golden age for women in film,” she said.
Janssen added, “They were allowed to be smart, funny, quirky, dramatic, whatever you name it… that’s clearly not the case anymore. If you look per movie the number of male parts and female parts — and I know because I even directed one myself and put a female in the lead. It’s really rare [for women to take the lead].”
Zero Dark Thirty actress Jessica Chastain chimed in on Russel Crowe’s comments, but with a little less heat.
She said Crowe is simply “getting his foot stuck in his mouth.”
It’s entirely possible that Famke Janssen holds the opinion that most older women in Hollywood do. Do you think Russel Crowe has heard the last of the backlash from his comments?