Eva Mendes, 45, Gushes She’s So ‘Proud’ to Get Older After ‘Dangerous’ Age-Shaming Comment

Actress Eva Mendes wasn’t offended when an Instagram troll said she was “getting old” after the 45-year-old shared a photo of herself with a new haircut. But she did reveal why that comment was so “dangerous” in a new interview on Monday, February 24.

“I was excited by the reaction because in no way do I think that person that left that comment about me getting old was being malicious,” 2 Fast 2 Furious star explained to People. “I do not think it was a malicious comment, but I think it’s more dangerous because it wasn’t malicious because it’s just ingrained in society that getting older is something we should either fear or be ashamed of.”

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“And I think the whole thing about not asking a woman what her age is, is archaic,” she continued. “It’s like you can ask me my age and I will happily tell you, I’ll be shocked, somewhat shocked. I’m about to turn 46 and that’s somewhat shocking to me. But I’m proud of that.”

When the troll first left the rude comment in early February, Eva humbly responded, “Yes, you’re right. Thank God I’m getting old. That means I’m still here. I’m gonna be 46 soon and grateful everyday that I’m aging. Was your comment suppose to make me feel bad? It didn’t.” In the new interview, the actress explained why she felt it was important to even acknowledge the hater.

“I wanted to make sure [I got] back to that person because I had something to say and I felt like, look, you mean this, I don’t think it was malicious, but you mean it kind of like an insult,” she said.

“I want to show you that I take it as a compliment because I’m still here,” Eva added. “And I have, you know, instead of saying I am 46, I wish we could change it and I wish I could say, ‘I have 46 years to me’ because in Spanish it’s very beautiful. It says, ‘Tengo cuarenta seis años’ — ‘I have 46 years and in English I know, it’s a little, you know it’s semantics but it’s important.”

We think the brown-haired beauty got her point across. “It’s like I don’t feel 46 but I do feel like I have 46 years of experience to me,” she said. “I just find that so empowering.”