US singer Cher has said that she feels you have to "play by the rules" when it comes to beauty standards as a woman.
The Believe singer spoke about this in a recent interview, where she admitted that she came to accept the unrealistic beauty standards that come with being a woman in the public eye.
"It’s a bi*ch, but I’m in it, so I play by the rules", she said. "I play by my own rules, but still, there’s a standard to keep up and if you can do it, you do it for as long as you can, because it’s more fun".
She also added that this is not expected from men in the same way: "But what is?".
"They just come in, in their jeans, shaved or not, but men in Hollywood are vain", she added. "But it’s hard for women, because men can get scraggly. They can get old".
"I see some women doing it, Helen (Mirren) does it really well. And Judi (Dench)".
Cher mentioned fellow actresses like Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, women who she worked with in Tea With Mussolini in 1999.
"I kind of just wanted to listen to those girls, because there are all kinds of stories that they’re telling about being there", she said. "I had a scene with Maggie, and I was sweating it. I was really like having the vapours, and Maggie said: 'Don’t be ridiculous".
Elsewhere, Cher also spoke about the challenges of parenting, including filing a petition to control the finances of her son Elijah Blue Allman, amid his struggles with addiction and mental health.
"You can do your best, and you can be supportive, and you can keep trying," Cher said. "Elijah is so intelligent, and the truth is he’s so bright and so smart, but it hasn’t served him well, because he’s in that kind of, above all of us".
"He’s thinking beyond what we’re thinking – but it hasn’t helped him, really", she stated. "I loved Gregory (Allman, father of Elijah Blue), so I thought, I will stick with him because he’s going to change".
"There are a lot of people who do and he tried hard. I remember once I was so exasperated, and I said: ‘I’m so sick of you going to rehab’, and he said: ‘So am I, but I keep going for you", she added. "But they get demons, and it is what it is.
"With my son, I’m not going to give up on him, but it’s difficult".
In this interview, Cher also spoke coming to terms with her other son Chaz's gender transitioning.
"It was hard for me. It was really hard. I was so frightened", she admitted. "Chaz is great, a great person, we’ve gone in and out a couple of times. But we’re very close. I’m close to both of them".
Last month, Cher also revealed that her next album will "probably my last album that I’m gonna do".
“They are great songs and I’m just really excited that I’m doing it", she said. “I’m really excited to be doing anything now".
In that same month, Cher also revealed that she her marriage to Sonny Bono had pushed her to the verge of suicide. More on this here.
