Justine Bateman responds to online reaction to her aging face: 'I think I look rad'

Justine Bateman is not afraid of aging.

The filmmaker and actor, 57, is a proponent of aging naturally and avoiding cosmetic procedures, even if others may have less than ideal reactions. "I think I look rad," Bateman said during an appearance on Today. "I think my face represents who I am. I like it and so that's basically the end of the road."

The former Family Ties star believes the conversation surrounding people embracing their appearance as they age ultimately comes down to fear. "I think that everybody has a completion to this sentence: 'I'm afraid if people think I look old then therefore ____,' and for different people it's different things," she said.

"Some are afraid they'll lose their job or never get a job or not get a mate or no one's going to listen to them or whatever. My position is, that fear existed before your face started changing," Bateman said. "So it's an opportunity to take care of that fear so it's not leading you around by the nose and making you make other decisions that are not you, taking you off track."

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images Justine Bateman

Last month, Bateman appeared on a 60 Minutes Australia segment about booting Botox and other facial-filler trends and embracing wrinkles and gray hairs. "When you say, 'Is there beauty in aging?' aren't you really saying, 'Do you think it's possible for other people to find aging beautiful?'" she said on the segment. "And like, I just don't give a s---.'"

Her comments struck a chord with a 16-year-old girl, whose mother sent Bateman a message of support: "She said, 'It was great, now I'm not afraid of getting old,'" she recalled to Today, relaying a broader message: "I would say to any young woman, you're being lied to. Who's making money off of this? You're being lied to, and you're being tricked off your path. You've got some awesome things coming your way. Just stay on your path, and just ride it out."

Bateman similarly explored the topic of aging in her 2021 book Face: One Square Foot of Skin.

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