Renée Zellweger opens up about ‘humiliating’ tabloid story early in career

Hollywood star Renée Zellweger has opened up about the first time she became the subject of a “humiliating” tabloid story.

Renée Zellweger revealed that tabloid stories about a break-up earlier in her career, and advice from her brother on how to cope with the sensationalism, helped her deal with the public spotlight she found herself in as a young star.

The actress, perhaps best known for her role in Bridget Jones’s Diary, spoke with InStyle for its December cover issue where she opened up about the first time newspapers made her private life public.

“I was devastated about a break-up, and it was plastered all over the tabloids. None of it true, all of it humiliating. Never mind that living the experience (of the relationship) was plenty,” she told the outlet.

US actress Renée Zellweger has opened up about a humiliating tabloid rumour about herself. Picture: Jean-Baptiste Lacroix/AFP

Fortunately, her sibling was by her side to stop her from spiralling over the bad news. She said they were in a supermarket together and he purchased some of the magazines covering her break-up without her knowing. While they drove home, she noticed him giggling. He started reading quotes from her part of an interview she claims she never actually gave.

“Things I supposedly said about this personal relationship that I have never talked about and never will. And he was reading them in a voice that he imagined this fictional person to be. And then we were both laughing,” she explained.

She continued: “My brother taught me that this is what it is. This is not a proper representation of you and how you live your life. The choices you make, this is not. It is entertainment, and it’s funny if you look at it in the right way.”

Despite her perspective on fame and tabloids, the 50-year-old actress took a lengthy break from the spotlight to focus on other things before returning to the big screen by way of the Judy Garland biopic, Judy.

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Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland. Picture: Supplied by Roadside Attractions/David Hindley

Although she’s thankful for the part, she acknowledged that leaving the famous lifestyle behind for a time was quite refreshing.

“Well, I mean, it was nice to have authentic exchanges with people for a while,” she said. “When you’re not on the radar, people don’t clock who you are; you’re just a person at the coffee shop ordering a coffee.”

This article originally appeared on Fox News and was reproduced with permission