Jennifer Garner delivered a fiery speech about sexism in Hollywood in which she noted how she and husband Ben Affleck are treated differently by the media.
While being honored at Elle’s 21st annual Women in Hollywood event Monday night, the “Daredevil” actress lamented the need for having an event dedicated to celebrating female actresses.
Taking to the podium while eating a slice of pizza, she warmed up the crowd with a few jokes. After praising the event and thanking Elle for the honor, she pointedly added, “I look forward to this whole thing being put out of business.
“Because the fact that there even needs to be a Women in Hollywood event is a little bit sad,” Garner explained. “I mean, the ‘men in Hollywood’ event is every day – it’s called Hollywood. Fifty-one percent of the population should not have to have to schedule a special event to celebrate the fact that in an art that tells the story of what it means to be human and alive, we get to play a part.”
The mother of three then brought up her husband, Affleck, and the different experiences they have while doing press for their respective films.
“So for example, my husband and I do kind of the same job, a little bit. Not long ago we both had one of those magical days – we call it a junket – where we both attended these lovely events where people come in every four minutes, they ask the same questions over and over again, you know the drill.
“We got home at night and we compared notes,” she continued. “And I told him every single person who interviewed me, I mean every single one, and this is true of the red carpet here tonight, Elle, asked me, ‘How do you balance work and family?’
“And he said the only thing anyone asked him repeatedly was about the t–s on the ‘Blurred Lines’ girl (Affleck’s ‘Gone Girl’ co-star Emily Ratajkowski) – which, for the record if we’re talking about them, they are real and they are fabulous. Take a look and enjoy.
“As for work-life balance, he said no one asked him about it that day. As a matter of fact, no one had ever asked him about it. And we do share the same family. Isn’t it time to kinda change that conversation?”
After she ended her speech, which was met with cheers and applause, she walked away with pizza in hand, taking a bite as she left the podium.
Other honorees at the event included Tina Fey, Zoe Saldana, Jessica Lange, Elizabeth Banks, Annette Bening, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Brie Larson.
