Kim Novak Addresses Oscar Critics, Admits To Taking Anti-Anxiety Medication Before The Ceremony

Kim Novak has finally addressed the critics who bashed her on the Internet after her appearance at the Oscars, admitting that she had some work done prior to the ceremony.

Novak, a Hollywood legend, was on hand at the ceremony to present the Oscar for Best Animated Feature with co-presenter Matthew McConaughey, and from the second she stepped onstage, her strange behavior and appearance inspired countless jokes and insults from viewers at home, resulting in a social media firestorm.

Many criticized Novak’s appearance: her cheeks appear too rounded and disproportionate to her face, an obvious effect of some kind of plastic surgery, and her slow, raspy tone also did her no favors.

One month later, Novak, 81, has decided to address the backlash she received after her Oscars appearance in a statement posted on Facebook, Thursday, April 17. Novak took full responsibility for her look and behavior, admitting to having fat injections done in lieu of a face lift two years ago for another Hollywood event.

“After my appearance on the Oscars this year, I read all the jabs. I know what Donald Trump and others said, and I’m not going to deny that I had fat injections in my face. They seemed far less invasive than a face-lift. It was done in 2012 for the TCM interview special. In my opinion, a person has a right to look as good as they can, and I feel better when I look better,” Novak wrote.

Novak continued to say that she has done a few public appearances in the past few years and has never received such heated and hateful reactions from the public. In her statement, Novak slams bullies who tore her apart anonymously online, but, again, admitted to a mistake she had made prior to her Oscars appearance: she took anti-anxiety medication before the show.

“…that I shouldn’t have taken. I had been fasting for three days and it affected my behavior. I regret taking it,” Novak wrote.

In a recent interview with Robert Osborne for TCM, Novak said that she had been dieting and fasting to lose weight for the Oscars, and ended up taking an anti-anxiety medication on an empty stomach, throwing her completely off.

Though she accepts responsibility for her strange behavior and regrets taking the medication, Novak was firm in saying that she will not tolerate being bullied because of her looks.

“However, I will no longer hold myself back from speaking out against bullies. We can’t let people get away with affecting our lives. We need to stand up to them in a healthy way by speaking out, working out and acting out. I am speaking out now because I don’t want to harbor unhealthy feelings inside me anymore,” Novak wrote in her statement.

Novak believes that it is important to speak out, not just because it is right, but because keeping hurt and anger inside you is detrimental. When addressing the audience during her interview with Osborne, Novak implored them to talk about their frustrations instead of letting them take control.

“When I got home, I just wanted to hide under the bedcovers…but I realize that it was important for me to address it… because I’ve got to make a point that we’ve got to stand up to these bullies, we have to be stronger than they are… It’s important to work out, speak out, and act out, because when you keep it inside, it starts to fester, and that’s when you have problems. You can’t,” Novak said.

Read Novak’s full statement below:

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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