Keira Knightley has shared her thoughts after Madonna found herself at the centre of “ageist” comments about her appearance following last month’s Grammy Awards.
The Queen of Pop was a guest presenter at the American music bash, but the 64-year-old’s appearance prompted some to question if she had undergone cosmetic surgery, and sparked comments which the singer said were rooted in “ageism and misogyny”.
In an Instagram post following the ceremony, Madonna wrote: “Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in.
“A world that refuses to celebrate women pass [sic] the age of 45 and feels the need to punish her if she continues to be strong-willed, hard-working, and adventurous.
“I have never apologised for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start.”
In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Keira said the criticism Madonna faced shows there is no “right” way for women to age.
The Pirates Of the Caribbean star told the magazine: “You’ve got Madonna on the one hand – and we’re told that’s not the right thing.
“Then you have someone else, where we’re told, ‘They looked better 20 years ago’. How are we, culturally, meant to age?”
Speaking about her own experience of ageing, the 37-year-old said: “A lot of the conversations I’ll have with my girlfriends are, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got a line [wrinkle]. Oh God!’
“Change is always tricky. We’re taught that it’s bad. We’re taught we don’t want grey hair.”
In the same interview, the British star admitted she felt “caged”, “constrained” and “very stuck” after being in the blockbuster film series, Pirates Of The Caribbean.
Keira starred in the first film Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl in 2003 – alongside Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom – as Elizabeth Swann, along with three sequels.
Her character goes through a transition from daughter of a gentleman to pirate while pursuing a romance with Orlando’s character Will Turner, a blacksmith’s apprentice, .
“(Elizabeth) was the object of everybody’s lust, not that she doesn’t have a lot of fight in her, but it was interesting coming from being really tomboyish to getting projected as quite the opposite,” she explained.
“I felt very constrained, I felt very stuck, so the roles afterwards were about trying to break out of that.
“I didn’t have a sense of how to articulate it. It very much felt like I was caged in a thing I didn’t understand.”
Read the full interview with Keira in the April issue of Harper’s Bazaar UK, which is on sale from 9 March.