Hilary Swank Pushes Back Against Criticism of Women Having Children Later in Life

Hilary Swank has something to say about women having children later in life.

The actress recently announced her pregnancy at the age of 52.

On The Drew Barrymore Show, she reflected on societal double standards and backlash against women getting pregnant at a later stage in life.

In a clip from an upcoming interview, set to air on October 20, Swank told host Drew Barrymore, “There’s a lot of backlash women get for having children older but not men, which is interesting.”

Barrymore, who is a mother of two, replied that the double standard is “weird.”

She noted that “men have babies in their like 80s, and that’s not a euphemism or a joke.”

“You had kids in your 40s, and people weren’t always gracious about it,” she added.

This isn't Swank's first pregnancy.

Back in 2023, the Million Dollar Baby star welcomed twins Aya and Ohm with her husband, Philip Schneider. She was 48 at the time.

Swank then recalled a story: "There's one story that I found really interesting, and I think I was attracted to this particular story because this one woman said, 'How dare you.'"

She noted that the woman continued to tell her, "You're too old, and you won't be old enough when your kids are older, and my dad was my favorite person and he died when I was in my twenties, my early twenties and it's just devastation."

Instead of being offended by her comments, the actress chose to relate to the woman's position.

“I related to it because my dad [has] also passed, but he was one of my favorite people on earth, and so I was drawn to that,” she explained.

“I thought to myself, 'Well, I would rather be born and have that person that was my favorite person and experience that than not at all. Do you know what I'm saying? So that's how I took what she said,” she said.

Swank was spotted stepping out with her baby bump visible while leaving the talk show studio.

On Wednesday, Swank took to Instagram to announce that she is set to welcome her third child with Schneider.

The news was announced pretty creatively as well. In the clip, the actress, her partner, and their two children danced in what appeared to be glow sticks taped to their outfits, with the lights out.

The video saw Swank proudly putting her baby bump on display, which featured a glow “stick baby,” as she danced with her family.

“A lot of people have been asking what project I’m doing next, this one releases in December. 😉👼🏼🫶🏼,” she captioned the announcement.