Jennifer Love Hewitt is peeling back the curtain on Hollywood’s dark past, revealing the disturbing way she was sexualized as a teenager in the spotlight.
At just the tender age of 18, Hewitt rose to prominence after starring in the 1997 hit slasher film ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ and its sequel, ‘I Still Know What You Did Last Summer,’ but the attention she received was far from glamorous.
Instead of focusing on her talent, the media became obsessed with her looks, often reducing her to a “sex symbol” before she even understood what that meant.
Yeah, I get on this huge stage in front of the world every day. It doesn’t even bother me. Here’s JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT pic.twitter.com/Fopf1mvgza
— FAMOUS WOMEN (@Kevin10919728) November 15, 2024
Jennifer Love Hewitt Facing Disturbing Comments and Toxic Culture
Hewitt, at the time, played along too, not fully grasping how inappropriate it all was until she was in her 30s, when she finally looked back in shock only to realize just how bizarre it was to be branded in such a way before she even understood what that meant.
“There were grown men talking to me at 16 about my breasts just openly on a talk show, and people were laughing about it,” she said while reflecting on the early days of her career in an interview on Mayim Bialik’s Breakdown podcast. “In hindsight it was really strange I think to become a sex symbol sort of for people before I even knew what that was.”
The 46-year-old also recalled how people would crack offensive and vulgar jokes that “I know what your breasts did last summer” at that time and added, “Everybody would laugh, and so I would laugh because it was supposed to be funny, I guess. It didn’t register with me that this was a grown man talking about my breasts on national television.”
Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Shocking Realization in Adulthood
Hewitt, after all these years, doesn’t place blame on individuals but rather on the culture that allowed it to happen so casually.
“They were allowed to believe that that was appropriate. I answered the questions, laughed right along. I have no problem with them for doing it,” Hewitt added. “But when you sit and you look at where we are now versus then, it’s really mind-blowing.”
Now, as Hollywood reckons with its past, Hewitt is set to revisit hers—returning as Julie James in the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot, alongside original co-star Freddie Prinze Jr.
🚨 SHE’S COMING! Jennifer Love Hewitt reveals she’s close to signing her contract for the sequel to “I Know What You Did Last Summer”:
“We are very close. When the official announcement happens, I feel it will be exciting and I hope it will be soon.” pic.twitter.com/4YpyruaNkA
— 𝙃𝙊𝙍𝙍𝙊𝙍 𝙐𝙉𝙄𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙎𝘼𝙇 (@UnlHorror_) November 27, 2024
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