Jennifer Love Hewitt is opening up about how body criticism in her early career had a lasting effect; pictured July 14

Jennifer Love Hewitt is opening up about how body criticism in her early career had a lasting effect.

The 46-year-old actress reprised her role as Julie in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel, which hit theaters on Friday.

In a new interview with Vulture, she revealed that she nearly passed on the opportunity to return to the screen due to the excessive scrutiny she faced as a younger actress. 

It wasn’t until she watched the 2021 New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears that she understood the ramifications of being picked apart for her appearance.

‘When I started watching it, I was like, “Oh, they talked to me like that. Oh.” I started crying for her. And then I realized I was crying for me,’ she reflected.

Jennifer rose to prominence as a teen when she starred in the family drama Party of Five. 

Jennifer Love Hewitt is opening up about how body criticism in her early career had a lasting effect; pictured July 14

Jennifer Love Hewitt is opening up about how body criticism in her early career had a lasting effect; pictured July 14

Jennifer pictured in 2004

Jennifer pictured in 2004

She went on to appear in movies including the original I Know What You Did Last Summer, Heartbreakers, and Can’t Hardly Wait.

It wasn’t long before she became a household name, making her subject to heightened judgement.

The former child star said she ‘really wanted to be a good actor’ but the focus was on her figure, which left her ‘trying to outact the conversation around my body.’

She described media coverage in the early 2000s as being ‘”Boob, boob, boob,” everywhere.’

When she was photographed wearing a bikini in Hawaii in 2007, it sparked media coverage around her weight. 

At the time, Jennifer said that she wasn’t ‘upset for me, but for all the girls out there that are struggling with their body image.’

‘A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn’t make you beautiful,’ she declared. ‘To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini – put it on and stay strong.’

Shortly afterward, she found those paparazzi shots plastered on the cover of People magazine with the headline, ‘Stop Calling Me Fat!’ 

Jennifer rose to prominence as a teen when she starred in the family drama Party of Five; pictured in 2000

Jennifer rose to prominence as a teen when she starred in the family drama Party of Five; pictured in 2000

Jennifer thanked photographer Amanda Demme, who shot her Vulture photo spread, 'for the coolest shoot'

Jennifer thanked photographer Amanda Demme, who shot her Vulture photo spread, ‘for the coolest shoot’

Hewitt turned heads at Monday's I Know What You Did Last Sumer premiere in LA

Hewitt turned heads at Monday’s I Know What You Did Last Sumer premiere in LA

She told Vulture: ‘I don’t think I was ever really insecure until that cover. And then when it happened, I don’t know that I’ve ever recovered from it.

‘Because there’s a part of me that’s always like, is this version going to be good enough, or is that going to happen again? Where somebody’s going to be like, “Hey, this is her without makeup at the cleaners. She looks 59.”‘

Hewitt turned heads at Monday’s I Know What You Did Last Sumer premiere in LA, where she wore a clinging beaded black dress.

Afterwards, social media users praised her body, calling her a ‘real woman’ and a ‘breath of fresh air.’ 

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