Anne Hathaway found herself at the center of an unexpected controversy after Randy Quaid, an actor from the original film Days of Thunder, publicly questioned her casting for the sequel alongside Tom Cruise.
Quaid called Hathaway a “horrible choice” and delivered one of his most striking criticisms: “Anne isn’t sexy because, in case you hadn’t noticed, she’s pregnant”.
The actor also called for Nicole Kidman to return to the story and maintained that she would be a better choice to reunite with Cruise.
The statements quickly sparked debate over the criteria used to consider an actress “suitable” for a romantic role.
Hathaway, 43 years old, is pregnant with her third child and was chosen to play a racing team owner and engineer in the highly anticipated sequel.
Beyond Quaid’s preferences, his comment about Hathaway’s attractiveness and pregnancy raised an inevitable question: does an actress stop being “sexy” or suitable for a role simply because she is pregnant?