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Image / Editorial

Gillian Anderson Hits Back At Botox Claims


By Jennifer McShane
15th Feb 2016
Gillian Anderson Hits Back At Botox Claims

One-half of the most infamous FBI pairings on television, Gillian Anderson, AKA Dana Scully of the X-Files, has hit back at a tabloid’s claims that she underwent Botox and multiple cosmetic surgeries.

The notoriously talented actress was?back in the cult series last week with co-star?David Duchovny?after 14 years, and fans the world over were thrilled to see the two appear on screen again. However, this week following the series reboot, Anderson was targeted for a different reason, and took to social media to speak out against the rumours.

A Daily Mail article entitled ?Ageless Gillian and the BotoX Files?, speculated in detail the various forms of plastic surgery Anderson “must have had in order to appear so youthful,” describing her skin as “miraculously wrinkle-free.” Each ‘consultant’ concluded that the star likely had a number of procedures, including a nose job, Botox and lip and cheek fillers. ?

The 47-year-old was quick to denounce the false claims and tweeted the following:

She then?linked to a tweet by The Everyday Sexism Project, that said:

?How we respond to the release of new work by a talented and successful woman in 2016?… #Everydaysexism?

Finally, she added a tweet with a photograph of herself from a recent event, saying:

?This is how I really look! #ageingwithoutshame.?

One of the most noticeable things about the article was that only Anderson was targeted; they made no such claims about Duchovny, which sadly isn’t unusual – it is the norm, which is?utterly depressing.

And this isn’t the first time she hasn’t been on equal footing with her co-star. She said recently that at the start of the X-Files she was required to always stand a few feet behind her partner, and she had to fight for years to be paid equally for her role. Fast forward almost 15 years later and it was a case of history repeating itself – she was initially only offered half of what?Duchovny was promised for the series revival.

She recently spoke candidly about her thoughts on ageism and going grey. “I did a job once where I felt like the oldest person in the make-up trailer, and I literally cried for two days afterwards.?I was grieving my youth, wondering where it had gone. I didn’t even feel like I was present when it was there.” However, despite her insecurities, she is coming to terms with getting older.?”It becomes about embracing what you’ve got, and so much is great about this age.?

We’re heart-sick of seeing blatant cases of ageism directed at talented, hardworking women, and we admire Anderson even more for taking the paper to task and speaking out against the false rumours.