Jodie Foster hit by backlash after calling Gen Z ‘very annoying in the workplace’ as she was criticized for using ‘divisive, tired and bizarre rhetoric’: ‘Criticizing an entire generation reveals more about yourself’

Jodie Foster has been hit by a wave of backlash for her comments about Generation Z, insisting they are work-shy and ‘annoying’.

The 61-year-old actress, who is known for mentoring rising stars in the film industry, said working with young actors can sometimes be frustrating.

Speak with The guardshe said: ‘They are really annoying, especially in the workplace.

‘They say, “No, I don’t feel like it today, I’ll come in at 10:30.” Or in emails I say to them, “This is all grammatically incorrect, haven’t you checked?” your spelling?” And they say, “Why would I do that, isn’t that a restriction?”

When asked what she thinks young actors need to know, Jodie added: “They need to learn how to relax, how to not think about it so much, how to come up with something that is theirs.

“I can help them find that, which is so much more fun than, with all the pressure behind it, being the main character of the story.”

But people were unimpressed by her comments, accusing Jodie of being ‘divisive’ for claiming the stance of a single age group was ‘unanimous’, and pointing out that many generations throughout history had criticized the generation that came after.

Many also argued that older generations tend to judge younger people while failing to take responsibility for their own role in creating the current society in which Generation Z grew up.

One person tweeted: ‘Criticizing an entire generation reveals more about yourself than the actual generation mentioned.’

While a second added: ‘Jodie Foster singing to Gen Z is so boring. Surely every generation, as they reached their late teens/early twenties, was criticized for the same kinds of things? And it’s so convenient that we forget exactly how arrogant/lazy/ridiculous we were in our youth.’

A third echoed: ‘Oh she forgot her parents’ generation dumped hers. And the generation before that dumps on theirs. It has always been the case that the ‘adults’ blamed the children for society, while taking no responsibility for the society they were in charge of. Miss me with that’.

While another person wrote: ‘??? Why is Jodie Foster comparing typical Gen Zers to the worst young actors in Hollywood who don’t live in real America and are total trust fund brats. What planet is she living on if she thinks her Bel Air-type Hollywood is reality?’

Someone else wrote, “My Gen Z employees get to work on time and deliver on their tasks and goals. Maybe Jodie is just a bad boss and can’t communicate what someone’s roles, responsibilities, and goals are for the workday. Bad management always blames everyone but themselves for problems in the workplace.’

While a sixth said: ‘If I was an A-list actor (and a good one at that), I’d like to think I wouldn’t waste my time bashing an entire generation just to praise one individual. Quite bizarre.’

A seventh commented: ‘Old people complaining about young people, nothing new,’ while an eighth agreed, saying: ‘Reads like someone from the Silent Generation describing hippies in the 1960s.’

Another fumed: ‘Another old bastard giving opinions about the younger generation, as if we all attended the same meeting and unanimously decided how to act. I’m tired of this rhetoric. It’s as boring and tired as Jodie Foster’s performance in Elysium.’

A tenth said: ‘Ah, the boomers who whine about laziness and can’t stand the idea that this generation is way ahead in their attitude to work and giving too much of themselves away.’

And another added: ‘“Generations” is a false construct. There is endless human variation in every age group. Divisive foolishness’.

However, there was also some support for Jodie’s comments, with some social media users claiming the star was right in her views on Gen Z.

One person wrote: ‘I didn’t think it was possible for me to love Jodie Foster more, but apparently it can be.’

Another added: “Nothing but respect for my queen,” while a third agreed, writing: “Told no lies.”

Someone else said: ‘Truer words have never been spoken. we love you Jodie Foster’, while a fifth echoed: ‘she’s not wrong’.

Elsewhere in the interview, Jodie spoke about her admiration for fellow actress Bella Ramsey, 20.

She recalled asking the non-binary star to introduce her at Elle Magazine’s Women in Hollywood celebration last month.

She explained, “I reached out to Bella because we had never met before,” and told her, “I want you to introduce me to this.”

Jodie described the meeting as ‘a wonderful event about actors and people in the films, but also very much a fashion affair. That means it determines who represents us.”

For the event, Bella showed up in a charcoal double-breasted suit with a blue and white button-down and black shoes and no makeup.

Jodie praised the Game of Thrones star as a “vector of authenticity” while the rest of the audience “wore heels and eyelashes.”

The mother of two sons, whom she shares with former partner Cydney Bernard, and co-parents with wife Alexandra Hedison, also revealed she faced gender stereotypes in her own family.

“There was a moment with my oldest when he was in high school when, because he was raised by two women – three women – it was like he was trying to figure out what it was to be a boy,” said she.

She explained that the then-teenager turned to the media for ideas, saying: ‘He was watching TV and decided, ‘Oh, I must just be an asshole. I understand. *ty to women and pretend I’m hornier.”’

And I thought, “No. That’s not what it is to be a man! That’s what our culture has sold you on all along.”