Following days' worth of scandal surrounding "Pitch Perfect" star Rebel Wilson, when it was revealed that she had lied about her age (being 35 instead of 29, as she had previously stated), the pressure put on Hollywood actresses' aging is further revealed after Maggie Gyllenhaal's age statement.
There have been a number of controversies in recent months about ingrained sexism in Hollywood, most notably with shocking revelations like finding out Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams were paid much less than their male "American Hustle" co-stars - and the new words from this Oscar-nominated actress about Maggie Gyllenhaal's age further prove there is a problem.
There have also been heavy accusations of ageism after body shaming scandals regarding plastic surgery, most notably about Renee Zellweger.
According to Stuff, Maggie Gyllenhaal's age, 35, became the subject of headlines earlier this week after the "Dark Knight" star revealed in a recent interview that she had been refused a role because of her age, being deemed "too old" to play the love interest of a 55 year-old actor.
The Guardian reports that the actress went on to say that it's not only Maggie Gyllenhaal's age that's posing problems in the industry, as Jake Gyllenhaal's sister also added that there are actresses in Hollywood who have digital correcting written into their contracts - and she cited Sandra Bullock's highly stylized look in "Gravity" as an "obvious" example.
"There are things that are really disappointing about being an actress in Hollywood that surprise me all the time," said the "Secretary" actress to The Wrap, directly speaking about Maggie Gyllenhaal's age. "I'm 37 and I was told recently I was too old to play the lover of a man who was 55. It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh."
Ageism is a long-standing tradition in movies; in the Golden Age of Hollywood, some of the major young actresses were often cast alongside much older men to play their love interests, most notably Audrey Hepburn being paired up in her films with much older men such as Fred Astaire, Cary Grant and Gary Cooper.
When asked who had been the actor that had put Maggie Gyllenhaal's age under the scope, she refused to disclose the information.
