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Women are rallying for Oscar-winning actor Catherine Zeta-Jones after she faced disparaging remarks online about her looks at a recent industry event.

Zeta-Jones attended a Netflix event in Los Angeles recently during which a social media clip featuring her role in the new series of Wednesday was overshadowed because of discussion focusing on her looks.

A Chorus of Defence

Laura White, 58, labelled the backlash "complete nonsense", adding that "men don't have this expiration date that women do".

"Men don't have this expiration date which women face," said the pageant winner.

Beauty journalist aged 50, Sali Hughes, commented in contrast to men, women were subject to unfair scrutiny as they age and Zeta-Jones should be able to look however she liked.

The Social Media Storm

In the video, which was also posted on Facebook and garnered more than 2.5m views, the actor, hailing from Mumbles, Swansea, talked about the pleasure of portraying her part, the Addams Family matriarch, in season two.

Yet a significant number of the online responses centered on her years and were disparaging about her appearance.

The online backlash sparked a broad defence for Zeta-Jones, featuring a popular post from one Facebook user which said: "There is criticism for women if they undergo too much work done and attack them for not having sufficient procedures."

Online users spoke up for her, with one writing: "This is growing older naturally and she appears gorgeous."

Others described her as "gorgeous" and "very attractive", and one comment read that "she looks her age - that is reality."

Making a Point

The winner attended at the studio recently without any makeup as a demonstration and to demonstrate that there is no fixed "blueprint" of how a woman of a certain age should look like.

As with others of her years, she stated she "maintains her wellbeing" not to appear younger but in order to feel "better" and appear "healthy".

"Getting older represents a gift and when we age the best we can, that is what really matters," she added.

Ms White stated that men were not subject to identical aesthetic benchmarks, stating "nobody scrutinizes the age of famous men are - they just look 'wonderful'."

She said it was a key factor behind her participation in the competition for over-45s, in order to demonstrate that women in midlife are still here" and "possess it".

A Fundamental Problem

Hughes, a writer and commentator of Welsh origin, stated that although the actor is "stunning" it was "not the point", stating further she ought to be at liberty to appear however she liked absent her age coming under examination.

Hughes argued the online abuse showed no woman was "immune" and that it is unfair for women to endure the "ongoing theme" which says they are lacking or of the right age - a problem that is "galling, irrespective of the person involved".

When asked if men experience equivalent judgment, she responded "absolutely not", adding females are targeted merely for having the "audacity" to exist online while aging.

A No-Win Situation

Regardless of the beauty industry advocating for "youthful longevity", she commented females are still criticised if they age without intervention or chose interventions like plastic surgery or injectables.

"If you age without intervention, others claim more could be done; when you have work done, you are criticized for not aging gracefully enough," she added.