Emma Thompson Says Sexism in Hollywood Is Worse Than Ever

"I think it's still completely shit actually."

Emma Thompson
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Emma Thompson is not impressed with Hollywood. The 56 year old, who plays a 77-year-old prostitute in her new film The Legend of Barney Thomson (see the awesome trailer below), has *things* to say about the pressures on women in Hollywood and how they've changed since she started acting as a young woman. (Spoiler alert: Nothing has really changed.) 

"I think it's still completely shit actually," she told Radio Times. "I don't think there's any appreciable improvement and I think that for women, the question of how they are supposed to look is worse than it was even when I was young. So, no, I am not impressed at all."

She also admitted that the fact that she plays a character 20 years her senior is a bit ridiculous. "It would be really nice to get someone who is actually 77 to play her, but it's a wildly comic role and I couldn't resist," she says.

"When I was younger, I really did think we were on our way to a better world," Thompson continues, "and when I look at it now, it is in a worse state than I have known it, particularly for women, and I find that very disturbing and sad."

Hear hear.

Samantha Leal
Senior Editor

Samantha Leal is the Deputy Editor at Well+Good, where she spends most of her day thinking of new ideas across platforms, bringing on new writers, overseeing the day-to-day of the website, and working with the awesome team to produce the best stories and packages. Before W+G, she was the Senior Web Editor for Marie Claire and the Deputy Editor for Latina.com, with bylines all over the internet. Graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a minor in African history, she’s written everything from travel guides to political op-eds to wine explainers (currently enrolled in the WSET program) to celebrity profiles. Find her online pretty much everywhere @samanthajoleal.