Renée Zellweger blasts backlash to 'toxic' Bridget Jones from critics

Helen Fielding’s beloved quality has travel nether occurrence successful caller years from “woke” critics for appearing to beryllium obsessed with her value and wanting to find a man.

Viewers besides accused Hugh Grant’s quality Daniel Cleaver of being “sexist” successful the archetypal movie owed to his problematic comments and behaviour towards his worker Jones astatine work.

However, Zellweger, 55, has deed retired astatine the antagonistic commentary surrounding her quality amid the merchandise of the 4th installment successful the franchise, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.

“I don't find it toxic, successful my opinion. I emotion Bridget Jones. I've ever loved Bridget Jones, and I emotion her much with each reunion,” she told The Sun.

“I ne'er thought determination was thing incorrect with her. I'd ever thought of it much mostly arsenic a practice of however we prime connected ourselves astir things that are wholly of nary effect - due to the fact that she's not an overweight person.”

The actress, 55, added, “And she's cute and there's thing astatine each incorrect with her oregon her experiences oregon wherever she is” earlier praising Jones’ “self-deprecating” cognition and her “optimism”.

Several of the franchise’s crippled lines and aspects of Jones’ quality person travel nether scrutiny recently, having aged severely since the archetypal movie successful 2001.

Last month, Jones and Grant discussed whether their characters’ enactment matter would beryllium considered “inappropriate” successful today’s nine owed to the powerfulness imbalance.

“Do you deliberation the archetypal movie looks dated now? For instance, our romance, bash you deliberation radical would deliberation that's precise inappropriate. He's her brag and he's exploiting his almighty position. Where bash you basal connected that?” Grant asked during a chat with Vogue.

Zellweger responded: “Well, I'm definite HR would person immoderate stern rules down astatine the publishing location these days, don't you think?”

Discussing what would hap if Cleaver sent inappropriate substance messages to Jones now, she added: “I'm definite determination would've been the meeting, right? Everyone would've had to get unneurotic and speech astir however you prosecute with people.”

In the 4th film, Jones appears to person taken connected a much politically close outlook connected life.

When a enactment workfellow calls her “hot,” she says: “I deliberation you volition find that benignant of connection is simply a small outmoded successful the workplace.”

She besides praises her younger emotion involvement Roxster (played by Leo Woodall) for asking for support to buss her.

“Aw, a procreation who ask,” she says.

Despite months of anticipation, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy has failed to triumph implicit critics.

“All the aged formed is backmost together, with immoderate lubricious young humor pumped in, and there’s a half-hearted effort to determination the affectional dial forwards to face property and loss,” helium wrote.

”Renee Zellweger gives a performance that’s awesome successful its clownish vulnerability. But the brittle British accent and carnal tics she initially brought to Bridget - the self-conscious totter, head-cocks and winsome pursed moues - person present go truthful magnified our heroine looks similar an alien who learned to walk for quality by watching soundless movies, oregon perchance footage of geckos.”