The celebrity-loving portion of the world is currently in a state of confusion. Renee Zellweger stepped out at the Elle magazine's 2014 Women in Hollywood event, except that wasn't Renee Zellweger. At least not the one we've all grown to know and love. This wasn't our Bridget Jones who made us chuckle every time we tuned into the movie - it was a woman claiming to be her but whose face was completely different to the face we expected. She was an imposter. A stand-in, surely?
Renee Zellweger
Soon came the accusations of plastic surgery. Social media was flooded with jokes about her new look and attacks on the actress for changing something about herself that was so recognisable. But we've learned today that Renee has transformed simply due to lifestyle choices - she denies that she's had any surgery at all. What we all need to remember is that the last time Renée stepped onto a red carpet, we were in 2009. Half a decade ago.
But this isn't really what we should take from the last 24 hours. What we all now really need to do is take a good, long look at ourselves and wonder why our obsession with celebrity image is as heightened as it is. Many of us pride ourselves on managing to figure out when an A-lister has gone under the knife - just look at the massive rumours and coverage that swirled around Michael Jackson and the work he supposedly had done. Why do we care? We'd be aghast if a stranger told us how we should be living our lives - what makes us the judge and jury for someone's appearance simply because they've lived some of their life in the spotlight?
I'm guilty myself of the fascination side of things. I still cannot wrap my head around such a dramatic change. I find it utterly mesmerising - but I'm not going to demonise a woman simply because she's now unrecognisable as the woman I once 'knew' her as, or pretend to know the ins and outs of what she's been up to for the past five years. We are in today's world programmed to pick up these obsessions with people in privileged positions - speak to others and you'll realise that the idolisation, adoration and allure of celebs isn't a rare thing. It's scary, a little worrying, but something that's likely to only grow stronger as time goes by.
This condemnation of the image of celebrities however is something that can be changed. It's simple - don't be a horrible person. Poking fun at somebody you don't know for the way they look is nasty - there's no two ways about it. It's not quite the trolling that's hit all the headlines as of late, but it's close to that. Where do we draw the line on free speech? I'm all for being allowed your opinion, but when you're being rude for the sake of being rude, your actions are actually more shocking than the person you're slating.
"I'm glad folks think I look different!" she gushed to People magazine, continuing: "I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows." And good for her. Many others would have buried their head in the sand and returned to a life out of the public eye.
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