Actress Renee Zellweger released a statement on Wednesday responding to rumors she had plastic surgery, saying her new look is simply the product of a healthy lifestyle.
"I'm glad folks think I look different! I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows,"
she told People magazine. "People don't know me in my 40s," she added, protesting perhaps too much in an attempt to change the dominant narrative.
The chatter surrounding Zellweger's new look was sparked Monday night by her red carpet appearance at Elle magazine's Women in Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills. As soon as the pictures hit the Internet, entertainment reporters and legions of Twitter users began speculating about whether or not she even had plastic surgery, the ethics of plastic surgery, and — if she did have it — whether or not it looked good.
The "Bridget Jones" actress said she decided to speak out about all the chatter because "it seems the folks who come digging around for some nefarious truth which doesn't exist won't get off my porch until I answer the door."
She went on, talking vaguely about her new, stress-free life that she supposes might have her looking a little different.
"My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy," she said.
"For a long time I wasn't doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn't allow for taking care of myself. Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion. I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things."
Her statement was met with skepticism among some, credulity among others, while still others seemed to care less, content to continue making jokes about the whole phenomenon.
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