Susan Sarandon’s SAG Awards Outfit Draws Sexist Commentary From the Internet Peanut Gallery

God forbid we talk about a woman’s accomplishments at award shows. That would just be silly. Instead, we talk about what they’re wearing, almost to the exclusion of anything else, and Heaven help the woman who makes the “wrong” fashion choice. That’s what happened to Oscar winner Susan Sarandon at the recent SAG Awards. Days later, people are still talking about the fact that she — at age 69 — dared to bare cleavage, rather than talking about her work on The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, the film for which she got nominated.

Now, let’s check out a full view of the outfit she wore, shall we?

Date night!!! 💎💙🙌🏻 So many thanks to @amynadinemakeup and @rodortega4hair for glam💄💁🏼, and @karlaotto for helping with my amazing @sagawards look! @gabrielacadena @casadeiofficial @jenniferfisherjewelry @pcademartori

A photo posted by HAPPILY EVA AFTER (@thehappilyeva) on Jan 30, 2016 at 3:23pm PST

A white, double-breasted, buttoned-up Max Mara suit. Yes, there’s a visible black bra under the jacket, but the entire pulled-together look is really elegant. And now, check out the dress next to her – also gorgeous, but baring significantly more skin. Remember that dress (and perhaps do a Google search for the Mara sisters — Rooney and Kate — and check out what they wore that same evening) when reading the following comments that were tweeted along with Piers Morgan’s unsolicited and unnecessary opinion above:

I’m sorry, she can’t hear your meaningless opinion over the sound of her GODDAMN ACADEMY AWARD.

And you thought OUR puns at TMS were bad! Seriously, Doug, did you think long and hard about that one? Or did it just come to you in a sudden onslaught of genius?

But it isn’t just men spewing this nonsense. Internalized misogyny among women is a real thing, y’all:

Writer Alexa Lardieri wrote an entire article basically telling Sarandon that she needs to put a shirt on because she’s too old to be wearing something like that, which is hilarious, considering that when you go to Lardieri’s Twitter, she seems to preach feminism (I guess not when it intersects with ageism, though, because feminism only applies younger women who adhere to a certain beauty standard, apparently?).

Thankfully, there are plenty of people pointing out the inherent sexism in these comments. Harriet Hall over at Stylist wrote an awesome piece in which she points out 1) she started the In Memoriam portion of the SAG Awards talking about her friend and ex, David Bowie, who basically made a career wearing clothing that was considered “inappropriate” according to the “rules” of convention (so, maybe you should keep your comments to yourself, Piers Morgan!), and 2) the double standard to which Sarandon was held in relation to other, younger women, saying:

Nobody seemed to lose their rag over The Martian star, Kate Mara’s ensemble – a sheer Valentino gown with a plunging halter neck that exposed not only cleavage but also so-called ‘side boob.’

Equally, Rooney Mara’s deep-cut dress was subject to zero controversy and, when Orange is the New Black star, Vicky Jeudy, posed with Leonardo Di Caprio and accidentally exposed a nipple, she did not receive an onslaught of abuse.

Not that they should have, of course, but it’s strikingly awful that Sarandon alone was the target of the social media bigots.

Sarandon is 69 and therefore it’s apparently not OK for her to remind us all that she’s still a living, breathing, sexual being.

To be clear, Susan Sarandon is a grown-ass woman who can wear what she wants. The suit was tailored, the bra was barely visible, and her breasts were only a “distraction” to those who would make them a focal point of conversation in the first place. You don’t want to be distracted by a woman’s breasts? Here’s a thought – LOOK AT HER FACE WHEN SHE’S TALKING. THAT’S WHERE THE WORDS ARE COMING FROM.

And as for Mr. Piers Morgan: he was the editor of the Daily Mirror – one of the tabloidiest of all tabloids in the UK – before being fired for, among other things, allowing falsified images to be printed. He continues to trade in celebrity gossip (and suffering), and has had feuds with way too many guests on his talk show that he bans for perceived slights that impinge on his manhood. His entire career as a “journalist” is tacky.

But no one floods social media about that.

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Teresa Jusino

Teresa Jusino (she/her) is a native New Yorker and a proud Puerto Rican, Jewish, bisexual woman with ADHD. She's been writing professionally since 2010 and was a former TMS assistant editor from 2015-18. Now, she's back as a contributing writer. When not writing about pop culture, she's writing screenplays and is the creator of your future favorite genre show. Teresa lives in L.A. with her brilliant wife. Her other great loves include: Star Trek, The Last of Us, anything by Brian K. Vaughan, and her Level 5 android Paladin named Lal.

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