Sometimes there’s a thin line between a mean-spirited dig and a bit of good-natured teasing, but celebrities and others increasingly being able to take a joke about plastic surgeries and cosmetic procedures is probably a pretty healthy trend. In this case, we’re thinking of a recent bit of repartee between living legends and stars of the Netflix hit, “Grace and Frankie,” Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.
Promoting the show, the new season of which appeared on Netflix on January 19th, Jane Fonda told Today Show host Hota Kotb that the two stars had known each for 50 years. “Before your first facelift,” quipped the acclaimed actress and stand-up comedy great. “Who are you, Megyn Kelly?,” responded Ms. Fonda, referring to a much discussed incident where she refused to answer a plastic surgery question from the former Fox News anchor turned Today Show regular.
Our team here at Beverly Hills Physicians believes strongly that plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures are simply another weapon in an individual’s arsenal to look his or her best and nothing to be embarrassed about. On the other hand, it’s also pretty obviously a very personal decision and not something that’s necessarily in the purview of journalists, random strangers, or even friends and family in some cases. There’s obviously a huge difference with a bit of ribbing from a very close friend and a question from a journalist when the subject of the interview is supposed to be an individual’s work. (In the Megyn Kelly incident, the question came during an interview promoting 2017’s “Our Souls at Night,” featuring Ms. Fonda’s equally mature male costar, Robert Redford. When he was interviewed by Kelly, he had no questions regarding measures to improve his appearance.)
Context is everything. In general, we’d say pretty much avoid the subject of someone’s work unless they decide to bring it up. Of course, that’s not what happened with Lily Tomlin’s quip. Then again, most of us aren’t comic geniuses.