The actress recently got candid about her pregnancy journeys and keeping them as private and personal as possible.
Scarlett Johansson is getting candid about feeling scrutinized and judged as a pregnant actress who lives life in the public eye.
The Black Widow star recently sat down for a profile interview with Vanity Fair and reflected on how she's always been "hyper-aware" of how women in Hollywood are put under a microscope, particularly when pregnant, and how damaging that can be.
"I’ve been so protective of both pregnancies, not wanting to feel scrutinized in the public eye," said Johansson, who welcomed her son, Cosmo, in August, with husband Colin Jost, and is the mother of 7-year-old daughter Rose, whom she shares with ex-husband Romain Dauriac. "I wanted to be able to have my own feelings about my changing body without other people also telling me how they saw me, whether it was positive or negative."
The Oscar-nominated actress said that she realized -- when she was pregnant with her son throughout most of 2021 -- just "how much stuff people put on you when you’re pregnant."
"Their hopes or their judgment or their desire, a lot of that is put on pregnant women," Johansson said. "I would have a lot of people saying things to me immediately, like, 'How great, oh my God, that’s wonderful.' And while I was definitely excited to be pregnant in some ways, I also had a lot of not-great feelings about it."
"And that would be scrutinized by -- I’m talking about, like, women that were close to me. You expect it from men, but from women, it’s like, 'Come on, girl, you’ve been through it,'" Johansson continued. "One friend, when I told her that I was pregnant -- she knew I was trying to get pregnant -- she was just like, 'Oh s**t. Great, but not great.' And I was like, 'You’re a true friend.'"
Johansson added, "I feel like a lot of things have moved forward in the past five years in terms of women’s empowerment, but that thing remains sort of in the Dark Ages. So much judgment, it’s crazy."
Johansson also spoke with InStyle recently, and shared a look into her life as a mom -- including having to field some challenging questions from her young daughter, who asks her about everything and anything she's doing on a daily basis.
"'Why are you tweezing your eyebrows? Why are you curling your lashes? What's a tampon? What's it for?'" Johansson said, recalling just a few of Rose's frequent queries. "She asked me why my underwear went up my butt crack, and I had to try to explain what a panty line was. I was like, '''Cause you don't want a line in your pants,' and she was like, 'Why?' And I was like, '''Cause then you could see my underwear,' and she was like, 'But you are wearing underwear.' Like, 'I know, it's weird.'"
In November, Johansson was honored with an award at the 35th Annual American Cinematheque Awards, and she opened up to ET about how her life had been staying home with her newborn and her husband.
"I feel very fortunate that I've been able to take this time to really enjoy the early stages of my motherhood with our son," Johansson shared. "It's been wonderful. I'm in a 'baby bliss bubble.'"
Check out the video below for more on Johansson's adorable family.
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