Jennifer Love Hewitt defined horror in the late ’90s with I Know What You Did Last Summer. Now in 2025, there is a new group of teenagers being hunted by a hooded figure with a hook. But instead of focusing on the return of Julie in this latest addition to the franchise, the internet is seemingly “concerned” with Hewitt’s weight and have been fat shaming her. Again.
During the red carpet for the 2025 I Know What You Did Last Summer, Hewitt came out in a black stoned dress that hugged her body. And instead of talking about how beautiful she looked or how excited she was to talk about the movie, comments started pouring in about how she was: shaped like a fridge, tubby, and how she was fat. And it’s the same unrealistic standards that consistently police women’s bodies.
Hewitt has been part of Hollywood since she was a kid. And her body has always been policed. She was either too skinny and needed to “eat something.” Or she was too fat and shouldn’t be running around in a swimsuit on the beach with her love handles on display. No matter what Hewitt did, she couldn’t win. And in 2025 the problem persists.
There is no one way to be a woman, whether it’s in Hollywood or according to the internet. And this pressure to be an “undefinable” version of someone else’s perfect is what leads some of your favorite stars to lose that weight or get that surgery. And even then, if the weight loss or surgery is not up to this “undefinable” version of someone else’s perfect, the internet comes around and questions what that person did to their face or their body and how they look “botched” now.
This policing of women’s bodies goes even further when there are narratives around how men want women who are “natural” and don’t wear a lot of makeup or haven’t had plastic surgery. But again, when that happens, when you have a woman like Jennifer Love Hewitt walking on the red carpet with her full figured body, that isn’t enough. Even that triggers the internet to fat shame her to a degree that is cruel and leaves your head spinning because we thought this is what you wanted?!
Hewitt is a 46-year-old woman with multiple children who happens to look like the average woman. She feels real or like she could be someone we know and go out for drinks with after a long week. And because she feels real, the dunking on her and her weight is extremely hurtful. Because if Jennifer Love Hewitt is “too fat,” it makes one look at themselves in the mirror like, “Well if she’s fat, I must be a humpback whale.”
When it comes to what or how we look, there truly is no winning according to the public eye. Hollywood or the general public will always judge you and pick you apart. So what should we do? Ignore them. Ignore the internet and what they have to say about beauty standards or what you should or shouldn’t look like. Every single person has their own beauty standard and the internet as a whole is the most toxic place to find any reassurance or advice on who you should be or what a woman “should” look or be like.
If you feel good in your body, as we hope Jennifer Love Hewitt does in hers, that’s all that matters. And as for the haters who are ragging on Hewitt, I don’t see you walking a red carpet. I also don’t see you appearing in 114 episodes of one of the most highly rated shows on network television aka ABC’s 9-1-1. So continue being bitter while Hewitt continues being employed and beloved by those who appreciate her acting, music, and the bits of her life she chooses to share with us.
I Know What You Did Last Summer is now in theaters.
