Jennifer Love Hewitt slams ageism in Hollywood, says ‘it’s hurtful' to feel rejected

Jennifer Love Hewitt is fighting back against ageism in Hollywood. 

While Hewitt has been in the spotlight for decades, she pushed back at critics who scrutinized her looks as she grew up in the industry. 

"Age is age," she told Fox News Digital. "I think women really come into this… acceptance of themselves and comfortability in their 40s that is beautiful."

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Although "The Holiday Junkie" star said she loves her current age, she confessed that the most challenging aspect has been public reaction to her getting older.

"The times that it's hard for me though… I feel like fans pick… this age that they love that they think represents you, and you're never supposed to grow beyond that," she explained as she referenced a quote from Taylor Swift.

For Hewitt, she found that fans mostly idolized the way she was in her 20s. Hewitt is known for her role in the "I Know What You Did Last Summer" franchise, in which she starred alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr., as well as "Heartbreakers" alongside Sigourney Weaver and the cult classic "Can't Hardly Wait."

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"For me… it was like me and my 20s … people seem to have a really hard time accepting that … I don't look that way anymore," the 45-year-old admitted.

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"It's hard because I think as humans, we want to evolve … we want to have lines on our faces, and you know our boobs be lower from breast-feeding our children, or you know our butt's bigger," she said with a laugh.

"Whatever it is, you just want to have the freedom to be whoever you are at that age. And it's hurtful sometimes when people reject you as you are verbally on Instagram or the internet because they're having a hard time adjusting to it."

Last year, the "Party of Five" actress responded to claims that she was "unrecognizable" after sharing a photo on social media.

Hewitt opted to put a filter on the photo she posted since she wasn't wearing any makeup and was met with some nasty comments and headlines suggesting she looked starkly different. 

"The picture ended up somewhere. And a bunch of people were like, ‘Jennifer Love Hewitt is unrecognizable,'" she said on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast. 

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"'She's unrecognizable and so she's gone to filters because she doesn't want us to know how bad she actually looks now in her 40s.' And I was like, ‘This is crazy.' Right?"

Hewitt previously noted the irony that at a young age she didn’t fully understand what it meant to be sexy, as she graced the cover of Maxim at just 17 years old.

Now, the Hollywood actress’ perspective of how fans view her has changed since she became a mother of three. 

"I have a daughter, I'm sensitive to it because I don't want my kids to read those things and feel that way… or worry about me being hurt by it… it's hard to do that sometimes."

Hewitt’s daughters seem to be following in their parents' acting footsteps. They were involved in the Christmas movie, "The Holiday Junkie."

The Lifetime movie, which was directed by Hewitt and is her first-ever Christmas film, focuses on her character, Andie, navigating the holidays during a difficult time after losing her mother. 

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Although her character faces a trying time, her spirit is lifted when she finds an unexpected Christmas romance. 

Her on-screen love interest is played by her real-life husband, Brian Hallisay. The couple first met on the set of Lifetime’s movie "Love Bites" and tied the knot in November 2013. They share three kids together: Autumn, 11, Atticus, 9, and Aidan, 3.

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Hewitt has been acting since she was a young child and told Fox News Digital the advice she would give to her younger self.

"I was always a worrywart," she remarked. "I was just always worried… I had so much fun on the job, and [thought] it was going to be my last or that… people were going to kick me out of Hollywood and not let me act anymore."

"Or that I was going to be dorky… whatever it was. I was just always worried… I definitely enjoyed it and was present… had a good time and all those things. But I wasted a lot of time worrying. And I think I would just say to her like, ‘Look, it's going to work out. You're going to start getting old, and they're still going to let you do things… it's OK. You're fine.’"