Styles from the '90s may be back in fashion, but not everything from that era needs to be repeated.
Actor Minnie Driver recently spoke up about the terrible '90s coverage of actors—especially women—by tabloids, which had impossible beauty standards and were quick to make scathing assessments.
Driver, best known at the time for her roles in 1995's Circle of Friends and 1997's Good Will Hunting, was a frequent target of these tabloid smears. She was often mocked in the press for having curly hair, among other ridiculous criticisms.
She recently took to Instagram, posting one such tabloid article, titled "Minnie Driver: From Drab...to Fab!" in which the unnamed periodical compared her "drab" picture sporting a full head of curls, to the later "Fab" one, clearly taken at a formal occasion and with Driver's hair straightened.
Driver added a video after the picture of the old article, recalling how difficult it was to be an actress in the '90s in that kind of spotlight, especially before social media leveled the playing field a bit and allowed actors ways to speak directly to the public.
She said:
"There was absolutely no recourse pre- social media, no way of adding your voice to those who described you with such authority."
She also emphasized how difficult it was to have that criticism placed upon you for the tiniest deviation from the norm.
She pointed out how that narrative can easily lead to terrible self-image in women.
"And we wonder why the labels that are stuck on women become internally weaponised and pinball around our heads doing their worst."
People in the comment section were with her on this sentiment.
@harimiller/Instagram
People made it clear that she is—and has always been—beautiful, and never drab.
@lustig75/Instagram
@thekarayoung/Instagram
@asha_malikmasters/Instagram
@isaacboots/Instagram
Driver's discussion of '90s media coverage of women rang true for many people, including former '90s supermodel Jodie Kidd.
@jodiekiddoffical/Instagram
@shraaampstagram/Instagram
@mother_of_pearls_/Instagram
Some commenters explored the idea of having "drab" and "fab" styles.
@addiepray/Instagram
@lexpeck1/Instagram
Driver's curly haired fans shared their sentiments about how Hollywood has historically, and still does to some extent, handle natural curls on actors.
@ollyolyoxenfreak/Instagram
@lowrihafcooke/Instagram
Finally, someone updated the headline.
Driver suggested a pathway forward in her video, proposing we say "...and back to drab," but hopefully this sort of article is much rarer in today's press.
