Renee Zellweger has kept a relatively low profile in Hollywood recently, with her last starring role hitting theaters six years ago, but the actress made headlines in 2014 for a disheartening reason: her appearance, which gossipmongers attributed to plastic surgery. Earlier this year, Zellweger was under the microscope once again when a vicious Variety column slammed her new look. As she starts the promotional tour for her new film, "Bridget Jones's Baby," the actress is opening up about the hurtfulness of that criticism and scrutiny -- and how she's rising above it.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Zellweger reflected on all the unwanted attention she's gotten over her looks these days, and how she's still struggling to understand why someone would choose to focus on her face rather than her acting. Speaking about the fallout from the Variety column specifically, the actress admitted, "It upset me."

"I could never sit down and make fun of somebody that I didn't know," Zellweger continued. "I would just assume that that would be hurtful in some regard. And I have no interest in being the person who causes anybody else unnecessary pain. For any reason -- ever."

That now-infamous column, penned by critic Owen Gleiberman, eventually prompted a response from the actress, who wrote an essay on the subject for The Huffington Post. In the op-ed, she denied having plastic surgery, and said Gleiberman's column should instead inspire a dialogue about "society's fixation on physicality."

Zellweger explained that she chose to write the op-ed because "if I didn't comment ... it was going to escalate." Ultimately, the actress told the Times, "I was glad [the Variety critic] made the decision that he made, because it did encourage my standing up for myself and discussing some things that I find disheartening."

Cheers to Zellweger standing up for herself. We think Bridget Jones would approve.

[via: Los Angeles Times]

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