The trolls calling Jennifer Love Hewitt 'fat' are why I compliment my daughter on her brain, not her body

I’m done with the idea that a woman’s worth lies in how well she’s aged. Here’s what I’m teaching my kids instead.

When Jennifer Love Hewitt stepped onto the red carpet this week for the I Know What You Did Last Summer premiere, she looked nothing short of glowing. Dressed in a shimmery, floor-length gown and a smile that radiated calm self-assurance, the 46-year-old actor and mother of three marked her return to the franchise that helped make her famous nearly three decades ago.

She was there to promote the newest instalment of the horror series she first starred in back in 1997 - a film that catapulted her into international stardom and made her a defining face of late-‘90s pop culture. Back then, she was praised for her “girl-next-door” beauty.

Now, as a grown woman, wife, and mother she exuded something far more powerful: presence. She looked confident, happy, and completely at home in her skin.

But that didn’t stop the trolls.

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

If Jennifer Love Hewitt isn’t safe from body shaming, who is? Image: Getty

Within hours, social media was flooded with commentary - not about her return to acting, not about her legacy in the franchise, not even about the excitement of seeing her back on screen - but about her body. Her actual, physical body. Strangers picking her apart like she was public property. Reducing her to angles and inches and outdated expectations.

I won’t amplify the worst of it. You can probably guess the tone: mocking, misogynistic, snide. A lot of it came from men who, ironically, would struggle to run for a bus but felt somehow qualified to weigh in on the appearance of a woman who just lit up a red carpet. It’s the same tired playbook: a woman over 40 dares to age or change or simply exist outside of the male gaze - and suddenly the knives come out.

RELATED: Pregnant supermodel's message for trolls who fat-shamed her

Social commenters like Rebecca Shaw (@brocklesnitch) are calling out the trolls online. Image: Instagram

 "Jennifer Love Hewitt looks like a woman, because she is one.”

The cruelty was familiar, but so too was the backlash. This time, it wasn’t just Jennifer’s fans who clapped back - it was women, men, and people across social media who had simply had enough. Support poured in, not just for Jennifer, but for what she represents.

“Jennifer Love Hewitt is honestly body goals for me in my own health and fitness journey,” one person wrote. “She looks strong and healthy, and way out of the league of anyone who has a problem with her.”

Another nailed the wider issue: “Unpopular opinion: The pornified brain has made grown men believe that the bodies of literal teenagers are the ‘ideal’ for grown women. Jennifer Love Hewitt looks like a woman, because she is one.”

Others pointed out the absurdity of the critics themselves: “Dudes that breathe heavy when they try to tie their shoes are commenting on Jennifer Love Hewitt's looks and it's wild.”

These weren’t just funny or cathartic replies - they were part of a growing cultural shift. A pushback against the deeply ingrained idea that women’s bodies are up for discussion, ridicule, or approval from anyone with a Wi-Fi connection.

RELATED: I called out a mum for fat shaming her daughter

Jennifer Love Hewitt looked radiant - but trolls still came for her body. Image: Getty

The impact on our kids is real - and it’s constant

As a mum of four - two daughters and two sons - I think about this stuff every day. We’re raising kids in a world where bodies are content, and opinions come cheap. Where a woman’s worth is still too often tied to how “well” she’s aged, how thin she’s stayed, how invisible the changes of motherhood are on her frame.

But it’s not just girls who are affected. I believe body shaming harms everyone. Boys and men face their own pressures to look a certain way, to be lean but muscular, to be "manly" but also impossibly sculpted. But it’s also boys who are watching how the world treats women. How they hear their fathers, coaches, influencers and friends speak about women’s bodies. And those lessons get absorbed early.

That’s why I’m conscious of how I speak to my children. I compliment my kids on their creativity, courage, cleverness. I celebrate their effort, their humour, their ideas. I don’t want them growing up believing that beauty is their currency, or that their bodies are problems to be solved.

I make a point of challenging objectification and teaching them that women’s bodies aren’t theirs to comment on - positively or negatively. I want them to know that respect isn’t earned through attractiveness. It’s a default setting.

We have to change the narrative - at home and online

The men ridiculing Jennifer Love Hewitt didn’t become cruel overnight. They were shaped by a culture that told them women must look a certain way to be worthy. That youth equals value. That softness equals laziness. That once a woman becomes a mother, she must "snap back" - but not too much - or she’s somehow doing it wrong.

That’s the culture we need to disrupt.

Because Jennifer Love Hewitt looked stunning on that red carpet. Not "for her age." Not "even though she's had kids." Just… stunning. Period.

And if we want our daughters to believe they’re more than their bodies - and our sons to respect that - we have to start by refusing to let anyone else define what beautiful means.

Especially not the ones who wouldn’t recognise it if it smiled at them in a shimmery dress.

Originally published as The trolls calling Jennifer Love Hewitt 'fat' are why I compliment my daughter on her brain, not her body