Actress Kim Novak has spoken out against the “bullies” who made fun of how she looked after she appeared at this year’s Oscars on March 2.

The 81-year-old said in a new interview she felt compelled to speak out against the likes of Donald Trump, who said she should sue her plastic surgeon, after she presented an award with Matthew McConaughey at the awards show.

The Vertigo actress said, “It (criticism) really did throw me into a tailspin and it hit me hard…For days, I didn’t leave the house, and it got to me like it gets kids and teenagers (who are attacked).”

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The actress spoke to The Hollywood Reporter hours after she released an open letter stating, “I will no longer hold myself back from speaking out against bullies. We can’t let people get away with affecting our lives.”

Kim said she was taken back by the reaction because she had been so well received at a recent trip to Cannes, France.

“I thought, ‘Perhaps Hollywood is ready to receive me in a different way.’ I was just not prepared for such a negative reaction and it just caught me off guard,” she said.

“I’m not going to deny that I had fat injections in my face. They seemed far less invasive than a facelift. In my opinion, a person has a right to look as good as they can, and I feel better when I look better.”