Andie MacDowell Talks Body Shaming Fears

Andie MacDowell appeared at Cannes earlier this week in a coral gown, courtesy of Elie Saab, which is ranking among the top looks from the star-studded festival.

The Four Weddings and a Funeral actress has been roundly applauded and complimented by the fashion press for putting together an ace look. However, not every Cannes festival immediately gives Andie a smug glow. In fact, she skipped the festival in 1989 for reasons that make us very sad.

MacDowell told Associated Press this week that she didn’t go the festival after giving birth to her daughter Rainey Qualley, because she was afraid of what the media would make of her gaining some weight in the aftermath of incubating another human being for nine months.

“Sex, Lies, and Videotape won here and I didn’t come because I had just had my daughter, and I was nursing her and really round and I was afraid people would make fun of me,” she admitted. However, years in and out of the Hollywood spotlight have given MacDowell perspective on the issue, “I know that was stupid. Now in hindsight, because I’ve matured and I’m older, I don’t really care what people say.”

ICYMI:?The Best Red Carpet Dresses of Cannes 2015

While it’s great to see Andie brush off critics now, it’s still pretty harrowing she felt she couldn’t do her job in public because of how the media operates to knock women’s body confidence.

MacDowell has a very busy few months of movie promotion ahead of her. She’s one of the female stars of male stripping phenomenon/sequel Magic Mike XXL and she’s also starring in a television series called Cedar Cove. All of this activity is a lovely thing to hear about a talented 57-year-old actress we haven’t seen much of in recent years.

For all those glam acres of putting on the serious ritz, Cannes doesn’t seem to be much craic for women, does it? First the organisers attacked selfies, a mode of expression that women have used across the world to draw attention to causes like the driving ban against females in Iran. Then there was a lot of to-do over the heels-only rule on the red carpet. Women, including a major director’s wife, were initially refused entry to a red carpet screening because security deemed their rhinestone flats inadequate. This bout of crazy prompted actress Emily Blunt to broach the subject during a press conference when she said: ?Everyone should wear flats, to be honest.?

(Although, we pretty sure the Into the Woods actress wore heels later that night. It was probably too late to go rogue on her stylist is the sisterhood excuse we’re sticking with.)

ICYMI: Cannes Bans Flats From Red Carpet

Associated Press

Follow Jeanne Sutton on Twitter @jeannedesutun.

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