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Females are uniting in defence of Oscar-winning actor Zeta-Jones after she faced scrutiny on social media over her appearance at a recent red carpet event.

Zeta-Jones attended a Netflix event in Los Angeles recently during which an online segment about her character in season two of the 'Wednesday' show was overshadowed by discussion about her appearance.

Voices of Support

This year's Miss Great Britain Classic winner, Laura White, labelled the online criticism "absolute rubbish", stating that "males escape such a timeline imposed on women".

"Men are free from this expiration date which women face," stated Laura White.

Author Sali Hughes, 50, commented differently from men, females are subject to unfair scrutiny as they age and Zeta-Jones should be at liberty to look as she wishes.

Digital Backlash

Within the clip, uploaded to social media and had over 2.5 million views, the actor, who is from Mumbles, Swansea, discussed how much she enjoyed portraying her role, the Addams Family matriarch, in the latest season.

Yet a significant number of the hundreds of comments centered on her age and were critical regarding her looks.

This criticism sparked significant support for Zeta-Jones, including a viral video online which declared: "People criticize females when they get too much work done and criticize them if they avoid enough."

Commenters also came to her defence, as one put it: "This is ageing naturally and she looks beautiful."

Others described her as "gorgeous" and "very attractive", while someone else said that "her appearance reflects her years - that's called life."

Challenging Perceptions

The winner attended at the studio recently makeup-free as a demonstration and to demonstrate the absence of a "blueprint" for what a woman in her 50s should look like.

As with others in her demographic, she said she "maintains her wellbeing" not to look younger but so she feels "improved" and look "healthy".

"Ageing is a gift and provided we live gracefully, that's what truly counts," she continued.

She argued that males are not judged by the same aesthetic benchmarks, adding "people don't ask the age of famous men are - they just are described as 'fantastic'."

She said this was one of the reasons she entered Miss Great Britain's category for women over 45, in order to demonstrate that women in midlife continue to exist" and "retain their appeal".

The Core Issue

The author, a journalist from Wales, commented that while the actor is "gorgeous" this is "not the point", noting she deserves to be free to appear however she liked absent her age being scrutinised.

She said the social media vitriol proved not a single woman is "protected" and that females should not face the "constant narrative" that they are lacking or of the right age - a problem that is "maddening, regardless of who the victim is".

Asked if men face identical criticism, she said "no, never", adding women were criticized merely for showing "audacity" to be present on social media as they age.

A Double Bind

Regardless of cosmetic companies promoting "longevity", Hughes said women were still criticised regardless of if they grow older gracefully or chose interventions like surgical procedures or injectables.

"When a woman ages gracefully, others claim you should do more; when you have treatments, you're accused of not aging gracefully enough," she added.