Kristen Stewart has spoken out in defense of her provocative photoshoot for the March issue of Rolling Stone magazine, which sparked widespread debate and mixed reactions online.
The Twilight actress fired back at critics by pointing out that people feel uncomfortable with the display of female sexuality that doesn't conform to the norms aimed at pleasing straight men. And that’s exactly why she’s “really happy with it,” she said.
Kristen also said she had a “great time” doing the Rolling Stone interview and poked fun at how the article, titled ‘uncensored,’ had gone ‘censored.’
“The writer of the story was great and shaped it well. But I like how the article was called ‘uncensored,’ and then the whole cover was censored because [of] the existence of a female body thrusting any sort of sexuality at you that’s not designed for or desired by exclusively cis, straight males. People aren’t super comfy with that,” Kristen said at a press conference for her latest movie, Love Lies Bleeding, on Sunday at the Berlin Film Festival.
The actress was criticized for the provocative cover, which was shot for the March issue of Rolling Stone
Image credits: Elena Ternovaja
Kristen had fans turning heads and dropping jaws as she sported a mullet and wore a white jockstrap paired with an open black leather vest. She drove home the statement-making look with her hand inside the jockstrap.
Her looks for the magazine were composed of mostly androgynous pieces of clothing, with one shirt saying "animal" and another saying "eat me."
Fans praised the shoot for creating a space for a queer celebrity to show her bold, sensual side without conforming to the traditional male gaze.
The Charlie’s Angels actress, who revealed in 2017 that she is queer, said the cover was meant to “send a message” and “flip the gender script.”
Kristen Stewart fired back at critics and said she is "really happy with it"
Image credits: rollingstone
“If I got through the entire ‘Twilight’ series without ever doing a Rolling Stone cover, it’s because the boys were the sex symbols,” she told Rolling Stone, making references to her co-stars Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner in the Twilight Series.
“Now, I want to do the gayest f-----g thing you’ve ever seen in your life,” she continued.
“If I could grow a little mustache, if I could grow a f—king happy trail and unbutton my pants, I would. Guys — I’m sorry — but their f—king pubes are shoved in my face constantly, and I’m like, ‘Ummmm, bring it in,’” the actress added.
Kristen recalled being bullied in her younger days after showing up to high school with unshaven legs. She also said that was the beginning of her past obsession with appearing “normal and hot.”
"I was like, 'Cool. I’m going to do everything I can to try and f-----g figure out how to look like a girl and get these guys to like me,'" she recounted.
"I want to do the gayest f-----g thing you’ve ever seen," Kristen Stewart proudly declared
Kristen insisted that she has enjoyed playing feminine roles in the past as well.
"I never have felt like I have performed a femininity in order to reap its benefits in a way that felt like a lie," she added while speaking to the outlet.
"I’m very fluid, and I’ve never felt like, 'Oh, wow, I was doing this lie for a long time in order to get jobs,'" she continued.
“That would be wrong. I have had a good time playing with all of the tonal qualities. But there’s so much room for success when you choose the girlie one. There’s no room for this other one,” the actress added.
While speaking at the press conference on Sunday at the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen asserted that the androgynous images from the Rolling Stone photoshoot should not be a big deal, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
“In fact, it’s pervasive and it’s everywhere, and it’s being denied, and it’s crazy that there aren’t more pictures like that. I loved the opportunity,” Kristen said.
The actress said she is "very fluid" and had a good time playing roles with different tones in the past
In the new lesbian crime-thriller, Love Lies Bleeding, Kristen’s character falls in love with a muscular girl and competitive amateur bodybuilder named Jackie (played by Katy O’Brian) in the gym.
As Kristen spoke about making lesbian films at the Sunday press conference, she said it was important for the stories to start moving forward and cater to the mainstream audience.
“We can’t keep doing that thing where we tell everyone how to feel, and where we sort of pat each other on the back and receive brownie points for providing space for marginalized voices and only in the capacity that they are allowed to speak about that alone,” Kristen said.
“The era of queer films being so pointedly only that is over. It’s done. Maybe they’ll happen, but I think things develop and move on. It’s just so inherent to how we’re all moving forward,” she continued.
“It’s not making (movies) about the reasons that they’re sidelined but peoples’ actual experiences, what they love, what their desires are, where they come from, where they want to go, and, yeah, not feeling like you always have to stand on a f-----g soapbox and be everyone’s spokesperson,” she added.
Kristen appeared stoked to have worked with filmmaker Rose Glass, the director of Love Lies Bleeding and the 2019 movie Saint Maud.
“I definitely did this movie for Rose,” Kristen said. “Saint Maud is one of my favourite movies. We were friends immediately. She pitched it, and she said A24 was willing to provide a lot of money for her second film, which is so fucking cool. The script was really interesting to read.”
It's time for more queer movies to move forward, Kristen Stewart asserted
Image credits: STREAM WARS
She also noted that the characters in Love Lies Bleeding provide alternative definitions to the typical norms of sexuality and play with the idea of strength.
“The people we don’t usually look at were front and center in this movie…We were toying with the idea of strength,” she said at the conference.
Watch her comments at the Berlin Film Festival press conference below
“Interviews we do as female artists are so proscriptively pushing this idea of empowerment because it makes everyone more comfortable about the fact we’ve been so oppressed,” she added. “But it’s ok to take different pictures; to say that’s ok, too. It’s crazy there aren’t more pictures like that. It’s not that big [of] a deal.”
Love Lies Bleeding is slated to hit the big screen next month, and until then, fans remain hooked by Kristen’s bold, provocative expression of sensuality on the Rolling Stone cover.
Fans were excited to see her pushing the boundaries of her personal style
