Kate Beckinsale blasted the media over what she called IQ shaming and said she won’t “dumb” herself down so as to not “offend” and she brought receipts.
“I was asked multiple times in a recent interview if I knew my IQ,” the 48-year-old actress captioned her post Friday on Instagram following an interview with Howard Stern. (RELATED: Celebrate Kate Beckinsale’s Birthday With Her Best Instagram Looks [SLIDESHOW])
Her post included a series of headlines that included: “I Dumb Myself Down On Dates So I Don’t Intimidate Men, And I Hate Myself For It: It Might Sound Bad, But 60% Of Women Do It,” from Grazia, “Sounds Hard To Be This Hot And Smart,” from The Cut, “Kate Beckinsale Thinks Her Genius IQ May Have Been ‘Handicap’ To Acting Career” from the Daily Beast and “Kate Beckinsale’s Cringeworthy Humble Brag In Howard Stern Interview” from News.com.au.
“I didn’t answer the question the first few times, but I did tell the truth that my mum had had me tested when I was young, and that it was high,” Kate shared. “I didn’t remember the number, and after being pressed several times to call my mother and ask her, I did. Here’s the dilemma: Tell the truth? Refuse to answer the question? Lie? Pretend it was lower? I told the truth and some journalists have been triggered by this.”
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The “Underworld” star asked if people are really going to jump on a woman for “answering a question truthfully about their intelligence or education” since women are required “to dumb themselves down in order not to offend?” (RELATED: Kate Beckinsale Reveals Shocking Experience With Harvey Weinstein Following His 23-Year Prison Sentence)
Beckinsale highlighted how she went to an all-girl school where she “never had to worry about raising” her hand, which might make her “possibly unfeminine.” She also noted that she went to a university in which “intellectual debate was not only encouraged, but the entire point of attending.”
“It’s abundantly clear that this is still the case, and these journalists who spun this into me ‘bragging’ is a part of the exact reason I say it was and is a handicap,” Beckinsale explained. “As a woman truthfully answering a question about my own IQ, I have been the subject of a few articles trying to shame me for it. This is EXACTLY what I mean by a handicap.”
“I don’t often respond to this sort of bullshit but it’s really important to me that NO percentage of women let alone 60% (Grazia magazine, 2019) should feel they need to lie or dumb down under ANY circumstances so as not to be a target,” she added.
The superstar actress’ post also included a headline from The Cut from 2015 featuring Salma Hayek under the headline, “Salma Hayek: ‘Cinema Undermines Women’s Intelligence.'”
“My IQ is 152 and if that triggers you, @thecut, (despite your 2015 article on Salma Hayek stating the opposite ) that’s your problem,” the “Pearl Harbor” star concluded. “Also, pick a side. Also, IQ doesn’t actually mean shit. But stop perfomatively supporting women while pulling crummy shit like this.”