British-Australian actress Rachel Ward has hit back at online comments regarding her natural, grey-haired appearance.
The ’80s sex symbol, now 68, has opted to age naturally, and drew backlash on social media from trolls claiming she’d “let herself go” in later years.
But the star has now shared her candid thoughts on ageing gracefully – and why the scathing comments don’t faze her.
On this week’s episode of Australian Story, Ward defiantly claimed comments on a recent Instagram video labelling her “old and decrepit” had only served to increase her social media following.
“The more wretched I look, the more followers I have,” The Thorn Birds star joked, adding she’d unwittingly become a much-needed representative for natural ageing.
“I was a catalyst for a larger conversation. I think people have been challenged [because] women weren’t allowed to have wrinkles, weren’t allowed to go grey.
“Why do we feel that we’ve got to pretend that we’re still 40 when we’re 68? … I’m so past caring about what people think about one’s appearance or age.”
READ MORE: Rockstar comes out as ‘proudly gay’, wife of 14 years speaks out
READ MORE: Katie Price’s video plea as husband remains missing
READ MORE: Kylie Minogue reveals secret second cancer diagnosis
She suspected people’s shock at her current appearance was down to her withdrawal from the public eye over the years, forgoing acting for a simpler life on her family’s Northern NSW cattle farm.
”A few trolls were a bit shocked about my grey hair. They maybe haven’t seen me since I was 24, and they went, ‘Oh my god, that’s what you ended up looking like.'”
She shared insight into how Hollywood viewed women during the height of her acting career in the 1980s, revealing women were largely defined by their sexuality – and what men believed they ought to look like.
“I went to Hollywood in 1982, and everything was about sexuality. It was all about the sex scenes. It was all about the male gaze,” she recalled.
“It’s very empty and very unsatisfying. It took me a long time to feel that I had value as a woman.”
The saga first began in December, following a seemingly innocuous social media post where Ward appeared makeup-free.
The post was later flooded with cruel comments from followers expressing their shock at her natural appearance.
“I read she’s 68. Looks way older! I’m 62 and can’t believe she’s only a few years older than me,” one person commented.
Another offered a similarly cutting comment: “OMG what the h— happened to u? U were so pretty?” Wrote another.
Ward responded at the time, saying she “felt sorry” for those who feared ageing to that extent.
“They will learn that it’s ultimate freedom as a woman to let youth and beauty go.”
