Kristen Stewart has a simple retort for anybody who was critical of her viral Rolling Stone cover: “F–k you!”
Stewart, 33, appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Monday, March 11, when host Stephen Colbert revealed CBS asked him not to show Stewart on the February cover of the magazine.
“They thought that would not be a good idea,” Colbert, 59, said. “I don’t understand why.”
Colbert disobeyed the network executives and displayed the cover anyway, which shows Stewart wearing a jockstrap and suggestively putting one of her own hands down the undergarment.
After telling Stewart “you look better in a jockstrap than I ever did,” Colbert asked the Love Lies Bleeding star about her reaction to some of the backlash the cover received, including one insinuation that it was pushing “gender ideology.”
“I think it’s a little ironic, because I feel like I’ve seen a lot of male pubic hair on the cover of things,” Stewart said. “I’ve seen a lot of hands in pants.”
She continued, “I think there’s a certain overt acknowledgement of a female sexuality that has its own volition in a way that’s annoying for people who are sexist and homophobic.”
Colbert agreed, arguing he’s seen “more revealing covers on Rolling Stone or Sports Illustrated, for that matter.”
Further, Stewart argued that the image challenged preconceived notions about the freedom of sexual expression for women.
“Female sexuality isn’t supposed to actually want anything but to be had,” she said. “[The cover] feels like it’s protruding in a way that might be annoying. But f–k you.”
Stewart’s passion and profanity earned a handshake from Colbert before Stewart added, “But I never will!”
Colbert laughed, telling Stewart, “I think that’s why they’re mad at you.”
After the cover was released last month, Stewart immediately pushed back against its detractors during an appearance at the Berlin International Film Festival.
“The existence of a female body thrusting any type of sexuality at you that’s not designed for exclusively straight males is something people are not super comfy with,” Stewart said at a February 18 press conference, “and so I’m really happy with it.”
The star urged cooler heads to prevail when it comes to pushing boundaries, saying, “It’s OK to take different pictures and mix them up in a way that people aren’t used to.”
“In fact, it’s pervasive and it’s everywhere and it’s being denied and it’s crazy that there aren’t more pictures like that,” she added. “I loved the opportunity.”
