In the latest story to enrage women everywhere, a man on the internet has called out a selfie of a 36-year-old woman because she dares to age.
The woman in question is Emilia Clarke, the actor best-known for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones.
The caption that accompanies the unassuming photo, shared by Emilia to her over 27 million Instagram followers, reads, "Mum got me a mug. I felt it was important to share this newfound wisdom. Use it and reap the rewards."
The mug she holds close to her face says 'You're Doing F***ing Great' and she included a few hashtags and emojis that hint at the fact she might have been recovering from a cold.
The comments on this original post, which has been liked by over two million people, were from fans mostly praising her beauty and her 'realness'.
The photo, which appears unfiltered, shows a beautiful 30-something woman smiling naturally. As one of Emilia's 27 million followers, I viewed the photo last week and barely registered it. I thought she looked lovely and happy and I scrolled on by, giving it no further thought. Until today, when I learned it had gone viral for reasons I would never have expected.
The furore around this happy snap stems from a tweet by 'Gamer and veteran journalist' Jon Miller, who tweeted: “Lmao wow Daenerys Targaryen didn’t just hit the wall she flew into it full speed on a dragon.”
He wasn't the only man from this corner of the internet to feel this way, as some of the comments under his rude tweet about Emilia's photo, proved.
Then there's the fact he didn't refer to Emilia Clarke at all, rather her HBO character of Daenerys. This tells you everything you need to know about his point of view, and if that doesn't adequately sum it up for you, a cursory glance at his Twitter account sure helps to clarify.
Men like Jon prefer to see Emilia (and other women like her) forever immortalised as their fantasy characters. For Emilia it is as Daenerys, the sexy, blonde 'Mother of Dragons'. A character she began playing when she was in her early 20s.
A character in a big budget fantasy series complete with revealing costumes, problematic sex scenes, lighting, makeup, wigs and also dragons.
Because beautiful Daenerys and her dragon babies weren't real.
But Emilia Clarke is, and without having to state the obvious for all the Jon Millers in the back, she is no longer wearing a blonde wig, nor is she in her early 20s.
She's a 36-year-old actor who has since worked on many other projects.
She is also a woman, a daughter and a human being who has continued to live her life long after Daenerys burnt everything to the ground.
Listen to the Mamamia Outloud trio discuss 'when a woman is past her prime'. Post continues below.
And here we are again, seeing judgemental comments by men on the internet about a successful female celebrity who dares to age, or look 'normal' in the public eye.
Thankfully, not everyone felt like gamer Jon, and fans were quick to throw their support behind Emilia.
Emilia, who has been through two brain aneurysms and traumatic surgeries, has previously shared her views on ageing in Hollywood with Elle Magazine in March 2021.
While she isn't against anti-wrinkle injectables, she says that her mother has not had work done and is "incredibly beautiful".
"I've never had [Botox] because I'm petrified, and I definitely don't want it now, but I'm not saying I won't want it later. I'm allowing myself room to change my mind," she told the publication.
"At 34, I am wiser, more intelligent, I've had more experiences, I've done all this stuff and I'm proud of that," she added.
"Time is the only thing [that] allows you to do those things. So, if my face is gonna reflect the time that I've spent on this earth, I'm down for that."
We can only hope that men like Jon Miller stop trolling women and start putting their remaining time on earth to better use.
Laura Jackel is Mamamia's Family Writer. For links to her articles and to see photos of her outfits and kids, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.
Feature Image: Instagram @emilia_clarke and Mamamia.
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