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'Twilight' star Kristen Stewart claims actresses are treated like puppets in Hollywood
The star, who recently turned director, spoke about how men have it easier in the film industry
- PUBLISHED: Mon 26 Jan 2026, 2:09 PM
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- ANI
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Hollywood actress Kristen Stewart spoke about how actresses are treated like "puppets" in the film industry. In a recent interview, the Twilight star shared her thoughts on the industry culture.
"Actresses get treated like [expletive], I've got to tell you. People think anyone could be an actress, but the first time I sat down to talk about my movie as a director, I thought, wow, this is a different experience. They are talking to me like I'm somebody with a brain," the actor told Variety.
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Stewart also opened up about her own experience, having made her recent debut as director.
"There's this idea that directors have otherworldly abilities, which is not true. It's an idea perpetuated by men. Not to sound like I'm complaining all the time, but it's worse for female actors than male ones—they get treated like puppets, but they are not. Imogen Poots put her whole body and soul into this movie."
This is not the first time that Stewart has voiced her opinion on the conditions that women face in Hollywood.
"There's a common act that happens before the acting happens on set: If male actors can protrude out of the vulnerability and feel like a gorilla pounding their chest before they cry on camera, it's a little less embarrassing. It also makes it seem like a magic trick, like it is so impossible to do what you're doing that nobody else could do it," she said, further adding that men are "aggrandised for retaining self", while women are not.
Stewart, who is famously known for headlining the Twilight series, switched to direction with her latest project, The Chronology of Water.
The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025 and received a standing ovation for more than six minutes.
The film, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir, tells the story of a woman's journey to turn trauma into art.
Stewart has been working on this project for eight years, and it is clear that it is a passion project for her. She co-wrote the screenplay with Andy Mingo, and the film stars Imogen Poots, Jim Belushi and Thora Birch.
