Renee Zellweger Addresses Plastic Surgery Rumors in Op-Ed Article

Renee Zellweger is speaking out for the first time about rumors she had plastic surgery on her face and the news articles surrounding her looks.

“In October 2014, a tabloid newspaper article reported that I’d likely had surgery to alter my eyes. It didn’t matter; just one more story in the massive smut pile generated every day by the tabloid press and fueled by exploitative headlines and folks who practice cowardly cruelty from their anonymous internet pulpits,” Renee wrote.

The articles came out after Renee stepped out on a red carpet looking noticeably different. Recently though, a journalist for Variety published a piece about how he can’t imagine the actress playing Bridget Jones again as she doesn’t look the same as she did in the first two movies.

“I’m writing because to be fair to myself, I must make some claim on the truths of my life, and because witnessing the transmutation of tabloid fodder from speculation to truth is deeply troubling,” Renee wrote in the Huffington Post op-ed piece. “The ‘eye surgery’ tabloid story itself did not matter, but it became the catalyst for my inclusion in subsequent legitimate news stories about self-acceptance and women succumbing to social pressure to look and age a certain way. In my opinion, that tabloid speculations become the subject of mainstream news reporting does matter.”

“Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I did not make a decision to alter my face and have surgery on my eyes. This fact is of no true import to anyone at all, but that the possibility alone was discussed among respected journalists and became a public conversation is a disconcerting illustration of news/entertainment confusion and society’s fixation on physicality,” she added. “It’s no secret a woman’s worth has historically been measured by her appearance. Although we have evolved to acknowledge the importance of female participation in determining the success of society, and take for granted that women are standard bearers in all realms of high profile position and influence, the double standard used to diminish our contributions remains, and is perpetuated by the negative conversation which enters our consciousness every day as snark entertainment.”

Read the full article on HuffingtonPost.com.