Jessica Chastain is grateful to Trump for showing why feminism is so important

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I like Jessica Chastain a lot, and I love watching her in movies. But covering her interviews often leaves me bored out of my mind. She’s intelligent, thoughtful and respectful, but she doesn’t gossip or offer up many juicy details about herself or her costars. That being said, I enjoyed her interview with The Edit from the very beginning, because the start of the piece is real estate and interior-design p0rn. She invited The Edit into her newly remodeled New York apartment, and it sounds rather fabulous. Jessica Chastain is the kind of woman who will buy a slipper chair at an auction because it once belonged to Lauren Bacall. She is the kind of woman who will purchase Leonard Bernstein’s classic four-bedroom apartment and remodel it with historical and architectural accuracy. See? Those are the kinds of details that make me like her even more. Anyway, you can read the full Edit piece here. Some highlights:

What she says before the election: “If [Hillary] wins by a landslide, that tells the world that we are a country that doesn’t support racism, sexism or any other -ism, and we’re actually taking a huge stand against it. It would be incredible for girls everywhere to see that. But also I think [Trump] being so popular is really an example of why feminism is so important. Unbeknownst to him, he is bringing it all to the forefront, and I am very grateful to him for doing that. You have to look at the world in a positive way otherwise you just want to cry.”

She turns down endorsements & roles because she wants to be a role model for girls: She turned down a megabucks blockbuster – she won’t say which – because the character was too passive. She was offered a lucrative lingerie campaign, which was tempting, but did not fit with her sense of responsibility as a role model to young women. “If I can help create empathy and balance in society, I’m going to do whatever I can to tell stories that subconsciously create that. When I get a script that has the opportunity to create discussion and inspire young girls, I don’t want to say no to that. If something comes to me before it has financing and I can help get it made, I feel a responsibility in that. I just want to contribute.”

Whether it’s better for actresses right now: “There are incredible movies with female protagonists, but I’m cautious to say everything’s better now because I see studios patting themselves on the back: ‘Look, I’ve got this film with diversity. I’ve got women in this.’ I think when you congratulate yourselves for diversity, that means nothing’s really changed.”

She’s been a vegan for 10 years: “So much comes down to the food you eat and I eat a very clean diet. Being vegan has made a huge difference in my life.”

Being a freckly ginger kid: “I didn’t like looking different. Being a redhead, you can’t fit into the group. I wanted to be blond so bad. I had really bad self-esteem and I asked my mom if I could dye my hair but she wouldn’t let me…I called my company Freckle Films because it was something I used to hate about myself. But I want to make movies about our differences as a society so that’s why I called it that. Now, I celebrate it.”

Whether she would ever consider plastic surgery: “Who knows? When I’m 50 or 60, I might. Some people think I’ve had a nose job. I’ve never had anything like that done, but I have no judgement of anyone that does.”

She turns 40 next year, does she worry about the roles drying up? “When I read interviews about male actors, they aren’t asked these questions. I feel – and please don’t take offence – but I feel that the media has a responsibility to not continue to ask them.”

[From The Edit]

All of these interviews with celebrities done before the election are making me sad, even though Chastain does have a point. It would have been nice if Hillary had won by a landslide… in the electoral college. She did win by millions of votes in the popular vote, so at least that’s something. But Chastain’s silver lining is basically that Donald Trump is a such an unhinged misogynist, such a blatant and vile predator, that it’s now easier to point to him and say, “This is what I’ve been talking about when I say ‘rape culture’ and ‘trigger’ and ‘misogyny’.” That’s been the case all along – Trump never dog-whistled anything. Everyone knew what he thought about women. And now we’re going to get four years of it. Enjoy.

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Photos courtesy of WENN, The Edit.

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13 Responses to “Jessica Chastain is grateful to Trump for showing why feminism is so important”

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  1. Margo S. says:

    She’s turning 40 next year?! That vegan diet is doing you good girl. She looks amazing. Good genes and clean living, that’s the key!

  2. jerkface says:

    Gratitude is not warranted for the orange one. A lot of us already knew why being a feminist is important without having to have been put in danger as we are now. I poot at this and in your general direction lady.

    Liked that response to the 40 question though. That I do not poot upon.

  3. robyn says:

    Never be grateful for Trump.

    • Who ARE These People? says:

      I doubt she is. She’s just trying to find something to hang onto…and she’s right about it being in our face. I don’t think most women needed the reminder, but it’s surely gotten the attention of a lot of men.

  4. Aiobhan Targaryen says:

    This was a really good interview. I don’t always connect with her in some of the films that I see her in, but when I do, I really enjoy her acting choices. She looks kind of wooden in the Miss Sloane tv spots.

    Random thoughts on eating vegan: I eat in moderation. I like shrimp and chicken, and junk food too much to be a vegan. It is probably no more expensive than me buying what I buy now. I just cannot bring myself to completely remove certain foods from my plate.

  5. TheOtherMaria says:

    Except feminism didn’t quite matter when it came to 60% of white women, did it?

    I’m over mainstream feminism, I’m looking for feminist ideas from WoC these days–not all white women voted for Trump, I’ll be the first to make this point and I’m hopeful for that, however on a collective level–no thanks.

    • jerkface says:

      60% of women who voted for Trump were white. Not 60% of all white women voted for trump.
      We need unity in the movement. Have a good day.

    • LooseSeal says:

      The day of the election I bought a book called words of fire: an anthology of African American feminist thought. Those women are my life blood. I want to amplify their voices so loud they can’t be ignored or passed over. Whenever I hear someone say Trump I want to say Sojourner Truth or Alice Dunbar-Nelson or or Flo Kinney or Angela Davis or Audre Lorde or bell hooks. Let’s give life to those names. Our president elect has enough.

  6. MC2 says:

    I agree with the part about Trump bringing up so many issues for feminism on a whole and women on a personal level. Jesus- the stories that are coming out about what Trumpers are saying to their loved ones about abuse against women & what is happening to women from strangers are heart breaking. This country is upside down right now & pretty sick. I do think you get sucked out before the biggest wave & am looking forward to that 3rd wave of feminism as a reaction to this. As a reaction to Trump and all the f-ing family members that are telling women to be quiet about their abuse, that they deserved it or that it’s just they way it is. Not for very much longer.

  7. hmmm says:

    There is no reason to show gratitude to evil. It’s like being grateful for Hitler showing us that throwing millions into ovens brought the issue of white supremacy to the forefront. And that’s worked out really well, that Hitler/white supremacy thing, yeah? And what about all those lives then, and now?

    I don’t care if she wants to find an upside. There is no upside.

    • Lacia Can says:

      I think there might be an upside, but it will take a long time to materialize. Trump’s election was supposedly a whitelash; there will eventually be a progressive backlash to Trump and his ilk. My more immediate hope is that Dem voters will turn out for the midterms. I understand that doesn’t usually happen. Those voters need to wake the F up. Maybe Trump is the alarm.