14 DAY TRIAL // For many women, especially if they spend most of their time in the spotlight, having cellulite on the back of their legs is not necessarily something they’re proud of, let alone an issue they would openly talk to the media about. “Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere is an exception to the rule, as she reveals in a recent interview with A Girl’s World that not only does she have cellulite, but she’s also not ashamed to admit it since she’s a woman just like any other.
The e-zine got to sit down with the petite blonde actress and discuss her “role model” label that the media tagged her with. The pressure of always being in the spotlight can be extremely difficult to handle, Hayden admits, but that’s not to say that she’s about to change who she is or pretend that she’s something that she’s not. If she’s a role model, then she is one for the regular woman, which also includes having the dreaded orange skin on her legs, the actress states.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thanked God and my parents for raising me in a place that was so humbling and so outside any of that stuff. I mean I live criticism every day. I’d go walk my dogs and I used to walk them in my PJ’s and now I have to make sure I look half decent or else I’ll get trashed. Or like having cellulite on the back of your legs. ‘I’m sorry, I’m a woman. I don’t know what you want me to tell you, I’m sorry. It’s not going to go away. I can’t do anything about it. I apologize if I offended you’.” Hayden says for the aforementioned publication.
Moreover, Hayden is happy to be considered a role model by both the media and her female fans, but only as long as that translates into having someone who projects a healthy body image and, what’s more important, someone who is far from perfect. The actress, who is renowned for her athletic build and dedication to a healthy lifestyle, stresses that no one should look for perfection in celebrities – once the world realizes this, the prejudices and judgment calls on stars should stop. The only problem is, Hayden adds, that this never happens and there will always be people who will have something to say about her. However, she for one is happy with her looks and, at the end of the day, this is all that matters.
“I think I came into it [the pressure] when Paris and Lindsay and all these girls were at their height of what they were doing and I would say it’s guilty by association. If you are a young female in Hollywood, you are guilty of everything that people say. People feel that they have a right to judge you and they haven’t even had a conversation with you and it’s scary. I have a body that girls can look at and go, ‘oh she’s not anorexically skinny. She looks healthy and she’s got cellulite, yeah!’” the “Heroes” star concludes by saying.