# "Unattractive" Celebrities: U Mad Bro? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 3, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934 "2014-06-03T15:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/41 "2014-06-04T07:48:35Z")
I started reading the related thread, and it seemed like something was missing. The OP was talking about the physical appearance of a woman, so where were the allegations of sexism? Also why weren’t other posters bitching that he would dare to ask what others see in something he doesn’t like? Oh, 2010. Thankfully it was bumped, so that stuff could be set straight. Also, no one was angry in that thread. There’s this rhetorical device called “hyperbole”. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/42 "2014-06-04T12:55:50Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > Simple. 'Cause I don’t follow anybody else’s lead and that’s how I feel about them. Got a problem with that? This isn’t a bar at 3 AM, this is a message board populated by reasonably mature adults. Dial back the pugnacity, pls. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/43 "2014-06-04T13:06:41Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > These days I’m probably not, but like I said, 'twas a time… > (yeah, I know what you meant :D) :smack: Should have said I’m not attractive to 99% of women, but, well, yaknow. (One of these days I’ll make a post that actually says what I mean) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/44 "2014-06-04T13:28:04Z")
> [@racepug](#): > > There are a few others that I consider to more or less be in the same category: Bette Davis (every time I see her googly eyes I think of Marty Feldman), Sara Jessica Parker (with her around I don’t know how much sex I would’ve wanted in the city), Hillary Swank (she got whacked with an ugly tree!!), and my personal favorite one to ridicule in that regard, Julia Roberts (how she ever obtained the nickname “America’s Sweetheart” is beyond me. Every time I see that skank’s likeness I have a visceral reaction that trends towards vomiting). Disgusting troll-wives, all of them. If I were the last man left on earth and any of them were the last woman our species would die out, I can guarantee you! He’s available ladies; better snatch him up while you can. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/45 "2014-06-04T13:39:51Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > I started reading the related thread, and it seemed like something was missing. The OP was talking about the physical appearance of a woman, so where were the allegations of sexism? Also why weren’t other posters bitching that he would dare to ask what others see in something he doesn’t like? Oh, 2010. Thankfully it was bumped, so that stuff could be set straight. 😕 Wow, you totally missed the point. Nobody here is saying it’s “sexist” to find some women attractive and others not (if you happen to be attracted to women, that is). Nor is anybody bitching about anyone asking what others see in something he doesn’t like. What we’re discussing is simply why some people get emotional enough about their celebrity crushes to express actual intense **revulsion** or **hostility** for celebrities who don’t appeal to them physically. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/46 "2014-06-04T13:49:22Z")
Bizarre. I don’t find Brad Pitt the least bit attractive, even in his youth. In **Troy** , when he was supposed to be blond, bronzed, buff, and drop-dead gorgeous, IMO he couldn’t hold a candle to Eric Bana. I don’t really understand why celebrity magazines have been drooling over him for, what, 20 years now without stopping. He does absolutely nothing for me. (Neither does Channing Tatum, Chris Helmsworth, uh…whatever other actors are considered swoon-worthy these days.) But I don’t get ~ENRAGED~ when I see him. His face doesn’t literally make me want to puke. I don’t feel any kind of visceral revulsion or moral outrage when I see him cast as a literal Greek (demi)God that the audience supposed to drool over. I just kind of go, “Huh. Nah…” I can also recognize and appreciate him for being a really talented actor (see him in **The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford** if you don’t believe this – he was fantastic). So, **racepug** , where does this anger come from? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/47 "2014-06-04T14:44:27Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > So, **racepug** , where does this anger come from? The truth is, any moment when you could be have a boner and you don’t is wasted. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/48 "2014-06-04T14:53:28Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > I haven’t actually experienced too many instances of a friend being “mad” that a woman isn’t hot. But I will venture this theory: > > Particularly in Hollywood, some women will get all gussied up (smoky eyes, revealing top, high heels, etc.) and then give the camera an unsmiling, come-hither type glance. It sort of has the effect of saying “Yeah, I know I’m hot.” Which can be awfully disconcerting when the woman is NOT hot. > > While I wouldn’t call it angry, I have noticed that some celebrities are called out for not being hot, while others are largely left alone. I do think it tends to be the celebrities who wear the “I know I’m hot shit” look on their face that tend to be most criticized for not being hot enough. I think that’s true with some reactions, but only some. If the character is supposed to be a stunning beauty that turns heads as she walks past, and they’re just not that, they’ve been miscast just like casting a short man to play a tall one (ie. Tom Cruise/Jack Reacher). However, it is possible to have an opinion like that, and voice it, without getting vitriolic. I did think Gyllenhaal was miscast because, while she is an attractive woman, she’s not a stunning, head-turning beauty and the film kept stating, outright, that she was. My willing suspension of disbelief was, um, suspended every time they did that, same as it was in Jack Reacher when they made a reference to him being the kind of man you’d think was a huge tough guy. He’s just not. In both cases it would have helped a lot if they’d got rid of those lines. Some fanboys might have complained still, because the actor didn’t meet their preconceived ideas of what the character should be, but I wouldn’t have complained because the actor would then have fitted the redefined character. I said “only some” because some people did get really butt-hurt about a woman not being gorgeous. The ones who do that are probably like that for women they meet in real life too, just in private or among their friends so you don’t see it (or on Twitter, where it can be directed at any woman at all); their opinions aren’t about film stars, but about women in general. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/49 "2014-06-04T15:25:17Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > The truth is, any moment when you could be have a boner and you don’t is wasted. Doesn’t it get painful to walk around like that _all day? Don’t you chafe!?_ I wont say that my many, _many_ relationship/sex issues don’t stem from multiple sources, both learned and preconceived, but this particular attitude that many men hold towards women is a big one. I find it horribly upsetting that so many males can only find value in a woman if she gives them an erection, and if she doesn’t, then she is less of a human being. And that’s how these men talk about Maggie Gyllenhaal, like she’s some kind of sub human beast. How dare Batman, rich, powerful, pinnacle-of-my-aspirations _Batman_ be with that [monkey woman!](http://dailyhairstyles.net/maggie-gyllenhaal-hairstyles-and-haircuts.html/maggie-gyllenhaal-hairstyles-and-haircuts-3) BTW, I’m not very into Christian Bale. Objectively, he’s quite attractive, but not really my taste. See how easy that is? BTW again: **Evil\_Captor** , calling Uma Thurman sub-mediocre, then acting like you’ve extended some form of gratitude is hilarious. Way to miss your own point. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/50 "2014-06-04T16:35:53Z")
> [@Small\_Hen](#): > > Doesn’t it get painful to walk around like that _all day? Don’t you chafe!?_ > > I wont say that my many, _many_ relationship/sex issues don’t stem from multiple sources, both learned and preconceived, but this particular attitude that many men hold towards women is a big one. I find it horribly upsetting that so many males can only find value in a woman if she gives them an erection, and if she doesn’t, then she is less of a human being. And that’s how these men talk about Maggie Gyllenhaal, like she’s some kind of sub human beast. How dare Batman, rich, powerful, pinnacle-of-my-aspirations _Batman_ be with that [monkey woman!](http://dailyhairstyles.net/maggie-gyllenhaal-hairstyles-and-haircuts.html/maggie-gyllenhaal-hairstyles-and-haircuts-3) Well I think the thread may be in trouble here because what I see mostly is people hypothesizing about the reasons other people get angry at celebrities, or at least post as if they are, with no one defending their actions along those lines from the other thread, I suspect because they know their opinions are not defensible. Still, what I was going for was understanding, not condemnation: what makes some guys write such posts? > [@](#): > > BTW again: **Evil\_Captor** , calling Uma Thurman sub-mediocre, then acting like you’ve extended some form of gratitude is hilarious. Way to miss your own point. Not sure what your point is here. As Marley has correctly pointed out, putting my feelings about Uma Thurman in the thread is a possible thread derailer – this thread is not about “is Uma Thurman pretty or not?” I did it only to say I didn’t have any bad feelings about Uma Thurman because I don’t consider her all that attractive. “Meh” would summarize my feelings nicely. So what? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/51 "2014-06-04T16:53:56Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I think that’s true with some reactions, but only some. If the character is supposed to be a stunning beauty that turns heads as she walks past, and they’re just not that, they’ve been miscast just like casting a short man to play a tall one (ie. Tom Cruise/Jack Reacher). > > However, it is possible to have an opinion like that, and voice it, without getting vitriolic. I did think Gyllenhaal was miscast because, while she is an attractive woman, she’s not a stunning, head-turning beauty and the film kept stating, outright, that she was. My willing suspension of disbelief was, um, suspended every time they did that, same as it was in Jack Reacher when they made a reference to him being the kind of man you’d think was a huge tough guy. He’s just not. > > In both cases it would have helped a lot if they’d got rid of those lines. Some fanboys might have complained still, because the actor didn’t meet their preconceived ideas of what the character should be, but I wouldn’t have complained because the actor would then have fitted the redefined character. > > I said “only some” because some people did get really butt-hurt about a woman not being gorgeous. The ones who do that are probably like that for women they meet in real life too, just in private or among their friends so you don’t see it (or on Twitter, where it can be directed at any woman at all); their opinions aren’t about film stars, but about women in general. Thank you for saying pretty much what I was thinking. I find it hard to be articulate on my phone typing with my thumbs. One example I remember is from the movie Silverado. I think it’s a fun but flawed movie. One scene in particular that was jarring was when Rosanna Arquette was telling Kevin Kline how people treated her different because she was beautiful. You were supposed to think she was the most beautiful woman in the West. I’ve seen real pictures of the Old West. She probably would have been. But this is a Hollywood movie. To make that claim in a Hollywood movie you would have to be considerably hotter than her. She isn’t unattractive and was quite cute in her prime but I’ve seen hotter while sitting here at lunch. It didn’t make me angry but it did take me out of the movie. Having her be the love interest was fine. Making her to be the Helen of Troy of the Old West was not. The opposite can be true also. Having Michelle Pfeiffer slinging hash in Frankie and Johnny opposite short order cook Al Pacino was ridiculous. That role was not right for someone who looked like her. The role was played by Kathy Bates on Broadway. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/52 "2014-06-04T17:11:53Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Having her be the love interest was fine. Making her to be the Helen of Troy of the Old West was not. It didn’t bother me as much, for some reason. I assumed that on this wagon train, which our heroes have been helping out as scouts (IIRC), she was the best looking woman (and unattached, to boot!). After a few weeks of travel, especially with no other competition, she more and more becomes the focus of the men’s attention (whether they are conciously aware of it, or not… they may not be that introspective). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/53 "2014-06-04T17:26:06Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > It didn’t bother me as much, for some reason. I assumed that on this wagon train, which our heroes have been helping out as scouts (IIRC), she was the best looking woman (and unattached, to boot!). > > After a few weeks of travel, especially with no other competition, she more and more becomes the focus of the men’s attention (whether they are conciously aware of it, or not… they may not be that introspective). I would have to look at it again. It’s been a while but I know it takes me out of the movie each time. IIRC she is talking about how she has always been treated differently because of her beauty. If it was just Ine trying to woo her it wouldn’t have been jarring. ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/54 "2014-06-04T17:31:16Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Well I think the thread may be in trouble here because what I see mostly is people hypothesizing about the reasons other people get angry at celebrities, or at least post as if they are, with no one defending their actions along those lines from the other thread, I suspect because they know their opinions are not defensible. Still, what I was going for was understanding, not condemnation: what makes some guys write such posts? Hard for me to say, since I’m not a man, but several men in this thread are claiming a problem with suspension of disbelief. I guess I can understand that. From a woman’s point of view, watching, for example, “As Good as it Gets,” I could not fathom why Hellen Hunt would end up anywhere _near_ Jack Nicholson’s character. And I may not have felt angry, but because he’s a celebrity, I felt free to add as much vitriolic color to my language as I could. Words like, “decrepit asshole” and “withered old cock” were likely. So, maybe it’s not so much anger as the anonymous nature of the internet, along with the subconscious belief that celebrities aren’t really _people_, anyway. > [@](#): > > Not sure what your point is here. As Marley has correctly pointed out, putting my feelings about Uma Thurman in the thread is a possible thread derailer – this thread is not about “is Uma Thurman pretty or not?” I did it only to say I didn’t have any bad feelings about Uma Thurman because I don’t consider her all that attractive. “Meh” would summarize my feelings nicely. So what? “Sub-mediocre” is a fairly mean thing to say about someone. But then, as I just pointed out, I’ve said some pretty mean things about celebs too. So I’ll concede that point on the basis that it would make me a hypocrite to continue supporting it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/55 "2014-06-04T17:38:30Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If it was just Ine trying to woo her it wouldn’t have been jarring. I don’t know how that happened. It should read, \*if it was just Kline trying to woo her it wouldn’t have been jarring. \* ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/56 "2014-06-04T17:48:08Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Well I think the thread may be in trouble here because what I see mostly is people hypothesizing about the reasons other people get angry at celebrities, or at least post as if they are, with no one defending their actions along those lines from the other thread, I suspect because they know their opinions are not defensible. Still, what I was going for was understanding, not condemnation: what makes some guys write such posts? Seems pretty simple to me - it is the nature pf the Internet for people to get hyperbolic about what amounts, essentially, to trivial and subjective opinions about celebrities/actors. Those who express subjective opinions without hyperbole don’t get as much in the way of response, for the simple reason that merely politely expressing a difference of taste in attraction does not lead to any response. “Actually, I don’t find X to be as attractive as those other actresses who really turn me on” doesn’t get any attention; “You like X?! If I had a dog who looked like X, I’d shave its butt and teach it to walk backwards!” does. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/57 "2014-06-04T18:27:28Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Thank you for saying pretty much what I was thinking. I find it hard to be articulate on my phone typing with my thumbs. > > One example I remember is from the movie Silverado. I think it’s a fun but flawed movie. One scene in particular that was jarring was when Rosanna Arquette was telling Kevin Kline how people treated her different because she was beautiful. You were supposed to think she was the most beautiful woman in the West. I’ve seen real pictures of the Old West. She probably would have been. But this is a Hollywood movie. To make that claim in a Hollywood movie you would have to be considerably hotter than her. She isn’t unattractive and was quite cute in her prime but I’ve seen hotter while sitting here at lunch. It didn’t make me angry but it did take me out of the movie. > Having her be the love interest was fine. Making her to be the Helen of Troy of the Old West was not. > > The opposite can be true also. Having Michelle Pfeiffer slinging hash in Frankie and Johnny opposite short order cook Al Pacino was ridiculous. That role was not right for someone who looked like her. The role was played by Kathy Bates on Broadway. That’s pretty much the only time I wonder about casting choices for actresses - when it’s just not right for the role and it takes me out of the movie. For example, in **Snow White and the Hunstman** , when Charleze Theron asked her mirror who the fairest in the Land was, and the mirror told her Kristen Stewart was fairer, I thought there was clearly something wrong with the mirror. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/58 "2014-06-04T18:39:13Z")
Lord, I thought of **Troy** and forgot all about the casting of Diane Kruger as Helen of Troy. I remember sitting in the theatre and being more than a little incredulous that this bland woman was supposed to be Helen of Troy, when the (IMO) much prettier Rose Byrne was already in that movie playing someone whose face was apparently unworthy of launching 1000 ships. That was just weird. But I wasn’t _mad_ about it, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/59 "2014-06-04T18:59:50Z")
> [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Lord, I thought of **Troy** and forgot all about the casting of Diane Kruger as Helen of Troy. > > I remember sitting in the theatre and being more than a little incredulous that this bland woman was supposed to be Helen of Troy, when the (IMO) much prettier Rose Byrne was already in that movie playing someone whose face was apparently unworthy of launching 1000 ships. That was just weird. > > But I wasn’t _mad_ about it, you know? You would figure that launcing even one ship with one’s face would leave _any_ women considerably less than pretty - let alone one thousand. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2014, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934/60 "2014-06-04T19:02:11Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > That’s pretty much the only time I wonder about casting choices for actresses - when it’s just not right for the role and it takes me out of the movie. For example, in **Snow White and the Hunstman** , when Charleze Theron asked her mirror who the fairest in the Land was, and the mirror told her Kristen Stewart was fairer, I thought there was clearly something wrong with the mirror. > [@gallows\_fodder](#): > > Lord, I thought of **Troy** and forgot all about the casting of Diane Kruger as Helen of Troy. > > I remember sitting in the theatre and being more than a little incredulous that this bland woman was supposed to be Helen of Troy, when the (IMO) much prettier Rose Byrne was already in that movie playing someone whose face was apparently unworthy of launching 1000 ships. That was just weird. > > But I wasn’t _mad_ about it, you know? That just goes to show you how subjective these things are. I was thinking that if someone were to say, “You don’t think Rosanna Arquette is beautiful? Who do you think is beautiful??” I would probably say Charleze Theron and Diane Kruger. I would consider Rose Byrne to be a bit bland. I’ve seen her in a few movies and stil couldn’t pick her out of a line up. Although if I met any of the above in real life I would find all of them very attractive. Of course good actors are able to project some sort of charisma that can make them much more attractive then their physical looks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unattractive-celebrities-u-mad-bro/689934.md?page=4)