The king of all Hollywood silver foxes, our beloved George Clooney, has spoken out about his salt-and-pepper hair in a way that makes us gaze his way in starry-eyed delight (sorry, Amal). Clooney declared he will never dye his graying hair, and his reasons for doing are quite interesting.
In an interview with BBC Radio (not typically a news outlet known for their hard-hitting hair questions), when asked about dying his hair, Clooney exclaimed:
“I don’t think it would make much sense. I’ve seen it happen, and particularly on men I don’t think it works very well. … I think it actually makes you look older. I’m a big believer in the idea that you can’t try to look younger, you can just try to look the best you can at the age you are.”
Not only are we thrilled his salt-and-pepper hair is here to stay, but we’re kinda impressed with the BBC: this question is not one normally asked of celebrity men. Ladies are asked all the time, “How are you working to fight aging?”, “What’s your anti-aging secret?” and “How do you keep your colored hair healthy?’ In other words, female celebs are constantly told that aging will ultimately be their demise, and you need to avoid it at all costs. They spend thousands on the best beauty products, the best cosmetic procedures and the best hair coloring services (which they, at least, can afford). It’s exhausting.
So, what a change of pace to see a man hit with the same insecurity-inducing, age-related questions that women celebrities are faced with. But the best part is his ability to answer with such grace and acknowledge that women feel this pressure way worse than men.
“I know for actresses it’s infinitely worse because of public perception based on nothing except studios not hiring them, but I think for all of us you have to come to terms with getting older and not trying to fight it,” Clooney said, via People magazine.
Of course, we would be remiss for not noting how we view many men getting sexier with age, while women are seen to “lose their value” if they aren’t still youthful-looking at 65. It’s a double standard that is slowly — slowly — changing. But to see a man forcibly stand by his opinion that aging should be embraced, just shows that there’s hope on the horizon. Age ain’t nothin’ but a number, people. Even George Clooney agrees.
