Rose McGowan called out Adam Sandler’s movie for all the right reasons
Last Wednesday, Rose McGowan took to Twitter to express her (very much called-for) frustration with a casting note for a movie starring a very-famous someone. The note instructed the actresses auditioning to wear something very specific — something McGowan found offensive and demeaning. For good reason. In addition to reading over the script pre audition (fair enough), actresses were asked to wear a “Black (or dark) form fitting tank that shows off cleavage (push up bras encouraged). And form fitting leggings or jeans. Nothing white.” McGowan solution to these gross requests? Put them on blast.
For his part, Adam Sandler faced some more double-standard backlash last week when he and actor Kevin James showed up to a Transylvania 2 photo call wearing I-Literally-Woke-Up-Like-This sweatpants while their female co-star, Selena Gomez, wore a dress. The stark contrast between the two men and Gomez perfectly highlighted Hollywood’s sexist double standards — because while it’s OK for dudes to wear whatever is clean, women are expected to show up to entertainment events flawlessly dressed to the nines.
For Sandler to require maximum sexy sexiness from McGowan and other women auditioning perpetuates this maddening trend. A trend that has actually been documented by a little Tumblr called Casting Call Woe — the blog exposes all the insanely offensive, sexist casting requirements female actors receive. Here are just a few examples of real-life casting notes:
The list goes on, but you get the idea. Casting notes requiring lady humans auditioning for parts to wear provocative clothing as part of their character is not a new thing, and McGowan isn’t the only one who has fallen victim to this kind of treatment. In April, Kristen Stewart revealed to Harper’s Bazaar how much scrutiny female celebrities face — how perfect they need to look at all times. “Hollywood is disgustingly sexist. It’s crazy. It’s so offensive it’s crazy,” Stewart says.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter this month, Maggie Gyllenhaal also shares a negative experience she had trying out for a role in a vampire movie: “. . . I was told I wasn’t hot enough. My manager at the time said, ‘Would you go back and sex it up a little bit?’ So I put on leather pants, a pink leopard skinny camisole and did the audition again and still didn’t get the part.”
It’s disappointing that, in 2015, we’re still having this conversation about women’s bodies and how often they’re being objectified. But we’re so proud of Rose McGowan for taking a stand and voicing her opinion because it’s important that it’s heard. And we’re hoping more and more female celebrities keep expressing their grievance with the status quo — it’s one way we’ll see real change.
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(Image via Instagram)
