Emma Stone Slams the Sexist Advice She Got From a Hollywood Executive at the Age of 15

Emma Stone is at the top of her game in Hollywood with already one Oscar under her belt for La La Land. This award show season, she’s on the hunt for another nomination for her work in the movie, Poor Things, which has already been recognized at the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Awards. That’s where the 35-year-old star mic-dropped a shocking revelation about the sexist advice she received as a young actress starting out her career in Hollywood. 

“When I first moved to L.A., I went to one of those general meetings that they sometimes send you to, and an executive told me that for male actors, it’s a marathon, not a sprint,” said Stone at the awards on Thursday, per People. “And in his eyes, for women, it was a sprint, not a marathon. And that was 20 years ago.” Can you imagine giving that advice to a 15-year-old teen girl? Well, that’s the message Stone heard from someone running a Hollywood studio. 

“And I realize that advice is total garbage because the majority of the women that I look up to in this industry, many of whom are in this room, have proven that as time goes on, life and work only get more interesting and more fulfilling,” she added. Stone is living proof that her career has become more nuanced after years in the entertainment industry. Her current role in the science fantasy-dark comedy, Poor Things, is about a women brought back to life by a scientist who suddenly discovers what her purpose is in society — consider it a modern-day twist on Frankenstein. It’s already garnered her a Golden Globe and Critics Choice nomination, so an Oscar nod could be next!

In 2018, Stone shared with longtime pal Jennifer Lawrence about how her career goals have shifted as she’s made her mark in Hollywood. “Honestly, so many of my dreams are now personal and less professional,” she said in ELLE magazine. “It’s less thinking about the next 10 years and what needs to happen and just sort of relaxing into what will be instead of trying to control the outcome.” If she had listened to that studio executive’s advice two decades ago, Stone, and moviegoers, might have been robbed of the exquisite acting performance she delivered this year. Sexism has no place in the entertainment industry.

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