Jennifer Love Hewitt opened up about the struggle of aging in the entertainment business.
In a conversation with Fox News, Hewitt reflected on people feeling a way about her not looking the same the same as she did at the start of her career. Hewitt received criticism recently after she posted a picture of herself without any make-up.
Hewitt, 45, had her breakthrough role on the teen drama Party of Five, and her career took off in her 20s when she starred in films such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Can't Hardly Wait. She became a star with a legion of fans who loved her, but things are a bit different now as she's gotten older, and fans are not used to seeing a different person.
According to Hewitt, fans have a hard time growing up with celebrities they've connected to at a particular time in their lives. As celebrities get older, so do fans and their memories of when their favorite stars hit the peak of their popularity.
"For me, it's not personally hard. I feel like fans pick this age that they love that they think represents you, and you're never supposed to grow beyond that," said Hewitt. "For me, it was like me and my 20s. People seem to have a really hard time accepting that I don't look that way anymore."
She continued, "Whatever it is, you just want to have the freedom to be whoever you are at that age. And it's hurtful sometimes when people reject you as you are verbally on Instagram or the internet because they're having a hard time adjusting to it."
Hewitt previously discussed ageism in Hollywood during a conversation with the Inside of You podcast. She claimed that aging in Hollywood is "really hard" because, just like regular people, these stars want to "evolve."