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Ageism is real in Hollywood. And actresses, no matter how stunning, talented or charismatic, are consistently reminded that there is a silent yet deafening ticking clock on their careers.

Meanwhile, men in Hollywood seem to enjoy a shelf life that's often decades longer than those afforded to women. And as actresses have repeatedly noted, it's not uncommon for men in their 60s to play romantic leads opposite costars who are decades younger.

On Sunday, Michelle Yeoh made it clear she has had it with the double standard. In her history-making acceptance speech for best actress at the 95th Academy Awards, she called out the sexism that often disposes of female veteran powerhouses once they've lost their youthful glow.

"Ladies, don't let anybody tell you you are ever past your prime. Never give up!" the Everything Everywhere All at Once actress said to cheers.

Yeoh, who is also the first Asian woman to win the category, is months away from turning 61. That makes her nearly 21 years older than most female winners — the average age is 39, according to a recent study by Sky News. The average age of male Academy Award winners is 47.

Fortunately for women in film, the gap has closed in the past six years. That's because the best actress awards have gone to women over 40. Frances McDormand won in 2018 and 2021 at 60 and 63, respectively; Olivia Colman was 45 for her win 2019; Renée Zellweger was 50 when she got a statue in 2020; and Jessica Chastain was 44 when she won last year.

But the recent shift at the Oscars is not an indication of a broader, more meaningful change across the industry, Lan Duong, a professor of cinema and media studies at the University of Southern California, told NPR.

Ageism, Duong said, is not going away because films are still made to satisfy the male gaze, which inevitably translates into objectifying women. "It's often a very heterosexual, patriarchal male gaze. And it's often directed at young, mostly nubile women's bodies," she said.

A 2020 study by TENA and the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media found that "[aging] is still fuelled by traditional and outdated stereotypes and preconceptions; particularly in the way the older generation are portrayed in global film and television with little to zero 'real' portrayals or representation of older women on screen."

As part of the study, researchers reviewed the 30 highest grossing films of 2019 in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, watching to see if they passed what they call, the "Ageless Test." That required a film to have at least one female character 50 or older who is integral to the plot in such a way that their removal would have significant effect. Also, the character must be humanized, beyond stereotypes.

The findings were grim. Of those characters who were 50 or older, 75% were male. No female characters over 49 appeared in leading roles, while two men 50 or older were featured as leading men. Additionally, female characters in that age range were more likely to be depicted as lonely — 19% — and homebound — 16% — than male characters.

Still, Duong said there is hope that older (or even just middle aged), established actresses will have more opportunities to stay in the picture and in the public eye. It comes down to money.

Duong said the undeniable commercial success of Everything Everywhere All at Once shows that audiences are willing, even eager, to watch a woman like Yeoh, go from being a martial arts queen "to playing an older woman who's struggling as an immigrant mother with her queer daughter."

The arthouse-sci-fi-heartwarming-action movie has has grossed nearly $74 million in the U.S. and more than $106 million worldwide.

Duong added: "It speaks of an audience that is appreciative of moving away from images of women as only objects of desire." Even those who crave more superhero-based action films, are open to seeing different types of women in those roles, Duong noted. In Everything Everywhere All at Once, "Yeoh moves in multiverses, which is not too far from a Marvel movie. But it's infused with energy and fun and melancholy and loss. It's a full-bodied character and it has resonated with people."

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

“American Idol,” the iconic series that revolutionized the television landscape by pioneering the music competition genre, is back for another season on ABC. Helping determine who America will ultimately vote for to become the next singing sensation are music industry forces and superstar judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Emmy Award winner Ryan Seacrest hosts the reality TV competition series for the show’s sixth season on ABC and 21st overall.

Tonight the fourth batch of auditions from New Orleans, Las Vegas and Nashville will be shown. Aspiring pop stars sing their hearts out in hopes of earning a golden ticket to Hollywood, and if they really stand out, a platinum ticket, which allows them to skip the first round of competition during Hollywood Week. Read our full recap of Season 21 Episode 4, airing March 12 after the Oscars, below.

SEE Everything to know about ‘American Idol’ Season 21: Premiere date, judges and host

8:40 p.m. — Previously on “American Idol”! The third batch of auditions took place, with 11 contestants earning golden tickets to Hollywood. Who will the judges discover tonight?

8:47 p.m. — Dany Epp is a 23-year old gymnastics coach from Suffern, New York. She brought her mom to the audition, who is a self-professed superfan. The judges invite Mom to join the panel if she promises to provide honest feedback. Dany is singing one of Katy’s songs, “The One That Got Away,” for her audition. She’s got pain and grit to her voice, which puts a smile on Katy’s face as she begins to sing along. Dany’s mom tells her to connect more with her eyes. Lionel agrees, telling Dany to believe in herself. Luke calls her voice “real” and “emotional.” The judges unanimously agree to send Dany to Hollywood!

8:50 p.m. — Amara Valerio is a 20-year old college student from Yonkers, New York. She shows the judges a video of her getting “Kanye’d” at high school graduation, where some girl stole the mic from her while she was singing the “Star Spangled Banner.” Well, there will be no interrupting this audition. Amara sings “Bust Your Windows” by Jazmine Sullivan, getting out some of that pent up aggression she’s been holding onto. The judges continue having fun with Amara’s story throughout the audition and seem to barely be paying attention, but give her a ticket to Hollywood anyways.

8:55 p.m. — Savannah Christian is a 23-year old teacher from Darlington, South Carolina, and the first contestant auditioning in the “American Idol” metaverse. Savannah and the judges are all in virtual reality goggles through this audition, which adds a bit of fun, but doesn’t enhance Savannah’s less-than-qualifying vocals. Sadly, she just doesn’t have the chops to make it to Hollywood.

9:02 p.m. — Hannah Nicolaisen is a 23-year old recruiter from Houston, Texas. She spent college playing competitive volleyball, putting her music dreams on the back burner until now. For her audition, Hannah is singing “Make You Feel My Love” by Bob Dylan. She has a gorgeous tone, which makes Katy’s eyes bug out while Lionel smiles from ear to ear. “Well, you just spiked the ball in our faces,” Katy says when it’s over. “You did everything right to tell that story,” Lionel added. “Your unique voice is what we pray for in this business.” Luke closes things out saying, “You’re definitely born to sing.” Hannah will be one to watch out for in Hollywood!

9:10 p.m. — Reette Thorns is a 20-year old college student from Madison, Wisconsin. When she was a little girl, she dreamed of this moment, but life was unstable due to her mother’s struggle with addiction. Tonight she’s auditioning with “I Believe” by Fantasia. When she finishes the song she immediately breaks down in tears, and Lionel responds with a fatherly hug. He tells her the first note was “spot on” but the rest was nerves. Lionel says Reette touched him, but she needs a big dose of adrenaline. It wasn’t a perfect audition, but the judges want to give this girl a chance. She’s heading to Hollywood!

9:15 p.m. — Tripp Taylor is an 18-year old college student from Florence, South Carolina with a deep, baritone voice. He is auditioning with “I Believe to My Soul” by Ray Charles while playing piano himself. He’s got a great, bluesy voice and looks like a star. Luke thinks he’s “incredible” and Katy asks, “Lionel, are you sure he’s not your son?” Tripp has the talent, the “it factor” and a phenomenal voice. Lionel calls his stage presence “strong” but warns him he’s being thrown to the wolves. Tripp is headed to Hollywood!

9:26 p.m. — A wild audition shows Rach Karma, a 28-year old receptionist from Newington, Connecticut, screeching out “Holy Diver” by Dio. It’s a “no” for her, but they auditions quickly move to a more wholesome singer in Colt Glover, a 21-year old college student from Magnolia, Texas. He’s singing “Rock Salt and Nails” by Flatt & Scruggs. Luke immediately perks up when he hears Colt’s country twang. Katy screams, “You are the best country singer we have seen so far!” She predicts he’ll be in the Top 10. What a vote of confidence!

9:40 p.m. — Cay Aliese is a 24-year old mother from Dandridge, Tennessee. She grew up playing music with her dad, who passed away two months ago from a drug overdose. Throughout Cay’s life, her father struggled and kept blowing one record deal after the next. His name was Nolan Neal and he even competed on other TV talent shows like “America’s Got Talent” and “The Voice.” Pursuing music at this stage in her life makes Cay feel closer to him. For her audition, Cay is singing an original called “City of Nashville” she wrote for her father. Katy is touched by the story, but isn’t emotionally connected to Cay’s performance. Luke tells her she has a unique sound, but “don’t be afraid to soar.” Despite being on the fence, the judges decide to give Cay a chance in Hollywood. That’s a wrap for tonight. The auditions continue next week with a full two-hour episode.

Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on CBS. You’ll compete to win eternal bragging rights and a spot on our “Survivor 44” leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

When Brooke Shields took the powerful Hollywood executive up on his offer to use the phone in his hotel room, she expected to call a cab. Instead, she was sexually assaulted — and blamed herself for what happened.

The incident happened when she was in her 20s, the model and actor, 57, told People in an interview published Wednesday.

"It's taken me a long time to process it," Shields said of the assault, noting that something doesn't have to be violent to be scary. "I'm more angry now than I was able to be then. If you're afraid, you're rightfully so."

Shields, who began her career as a child model, notoriously gained fame at age 12 when she starred in the movie "Pretty Baby" as a preteen prostitute. Three years later, she made waves with a provocative ad campaign for Calvin Klein Jeans in which she uttered the line, "Do you know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."

The romantic movie dramas "Blue Lagoon" and "Endless Love" happened for Shields around the same time, in 1980 and 1981, further heightening the teenage Shields' characterization as a sexual being.

She took a break from her career to attend Princeton University and came back in the 1990s with roles on TV — including star turns on "Suddenly Susan" and "The L Word" — and a number of roles on Broadway.

It was sometime between 1985 and 1995 when she had dinner with the exec — a dinner she thought was about her getting a role in a movie. When he assaulted her in the hotel room afterward, Shields said, she froze and didn't fight back. She disassociated.

"It was really easy to disassociate because by then it was old hat," she said after years of working as a cover girl and checking out to cope with the intensity of the attention cast her way. "And because it was a fight-or-flight type of choice. Fight was not an option, so you just leave your body. 'You're not there. It didn't happen.'"

But it did happen. Shields said that up till now, she shared the story with only one person, a close friend who was a former security consultant.

That audience will broaden significantly with the debut of a two-part documentary about Shields' life in which she tells that story and others in detail. "Brooke Shields: Pretty Baby," which examines a woman who was sexualized at a very young age, debuts April 3 on Hulu.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

A $13.8 billion South Carolina spending plan that has money for bridges, a state employee raise and more money for teachers will take center stage in the State House this week.

The House budget debate begins Monday at 1 p.m. and is expected to take a while. This is the first budget for House Ways and Means Chairman Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, and he estimated the debate to last possibly into Thursday evening.

Bannister said he expected many amendments from the conservative Freedom Caucus.

“There’s a lot of folks who would like an outlet for some political statements, and the budget is just a perfect place for folks to get their political say on whatever issue they may have,” Bannister said.

Democrats also are expecting an extended debate.

“We expect this (year’s) budget week to be long, especially with tensions on the rise in the House,” a House Democratic caucus email said.

Ultimately the House’s final product will still have to go through the Senate, where the Finance Committee has already begun budget hearings. A Senate vote on the budget is expected to take place the week of April 18.

The conservative Freedom Caucus already is planning to propose amendments, including those that would take money away from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in higher education, prohibiting money going to lobbyists, taking away state money for Planned Parenthood, and preventing money in the state budget from paying for abortions.

“There’ll be a number of amendments to decrease the amount of wokeness in our budget,” said state Rep. RJ May, the vice chairman of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus. “You’ll see probably a number of amendments that seek to shrink the size and scope of government from unnecessary things such as film subsidies for Hollywood or public television or radio, just things that government shouldn’t be doing in general.”

May said his group’s motive isn’t to make the budget debate last longer than it needs to.

“It’s about getting it right, and that can be a very quick process, or it could be extended depends on how the body here wants to take it,” May said. “We’re not coming into a budget debate thinking, ‘Hey, let’s prolong this for the sake of prolonging it.’ It’s about getting it right and ensuring the future for our children.”

The budget includes measures to give each state employee a raise of at least $2,500. For those earning more than $83,000 a year, the raise would be 3%. The projected raise will cost the state about $124 million. Law enforcement, corrections officers, nurses and mental health professionals employed by the state also will be in line for recruitment and retention raises, as the state struggles to fill those positions.

State employees on the state health plan also wouldn’t see a health care premium increase for a decade because the state would pay $121 million toward the premium hike.

The budget also includes money for an increase to the state starting teacher pay by $2,500, to $42,500. The additional $261 million in state aid to classrooms, which pays for teacher salaries, includes raising the every cell in the state teacher salary schedule, which pays teachers based on experience and education level, by $2,500.

Forty-six out of 78 school districts currently pay less than the proposed higher salary schedule, as other school districts use local dollars to pay teachers more.

Teachers also would see their supply stipends increase to $350 from $300, which would cost about $3 million.

The budget also has money for initiatives pushed by new Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver, who was elected in November to succeed Molly Spearman.

House budget writers included $42 million for literacy instruction training for kindergarten through third-grade teachers, including a $500 stipend for teachers who complete the training, and $15 million for high-intensity tutoring for students struggling in reading and math.

“The House was specifically interested in our literacy proposal, and I’ll be clear, that’s my number one priority too,” Weaver said.

Like all agencies, not all of Weaver’s request was funded by the Ways and Means Committee. She has called for $25 million worth of supplements for teachers who work in the highest needs schools in their districts.

“I certainly would love to see the entire request funded,” Weaver said. “I believe passionately in all of the ideas that I’ve presented to the General Assembly because I believe they’re ideas that can truly move the needle for teachers and for students, but I also understand that the General Assembly has many competing priorities that they have to fund, and so we’re grateful for what they’re willing to do to partner with us in this innovation work.”

Medicaid and Medicare spending also increases by $196 million under the House budget proposal. Because South Carolina’s economy is doing well, the amount the federal government matches for the two state health insurance programs is decreasing. Premiums and reimbursement rates also are going up, leading to the higher costs.

The budget proposal also includes $200 million to accelerate bridge repair work in the state Department of Transportation’s 10-year plan.

“Most of South Carolina’s bridges were built in the ‘50s and ‘60s, and 63% of the bridges on our interstate and primary networks need some type of repair or replacement,” said state Rep. Heather Ammons Crawford, R-Horry.

College students also will benefit from the budget proposal.

Budget writers also proposed spending $69 million to freeze tuition rates for in-state students at the state’s colleges and universities and an additional $15 million for a tuition freeze at the state’s technical colleges.

This would be the fifth year in a row the Legislature provided money to freeze tuition rates colleges and universities “and make college much more affordable for families and our students out there,” said state Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Lexington.

Budget writers also put in an additional $280 million for LIFE, HOPE and Palmetto Family Fellows scholarships, as well as $100 million for the workforce development scholarships through the state’s technical colleges.

“Most South Carolinians will benefit in one way or the other from one of those scholarships,” Ballentine said.

This story was originally published March 13, 2023, 5:00 AM.