Renée Zellweger Recalls the Time She Overheard Strangers Publicly Criticizing Her Face: ‘That’s Pretty Painful’

She may have received the utmost praise for her performances in Bridget Jones’s Diary, Jerry Maguire, Chicago and many others, but not even Renée Zellweger is safe from the critics of Hollywood. While making an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Jess Cagle Show,” the Oscar-winning actress opened up about plastic surgery rumors and recalled the “painful” memory of when she overheard strangers commenting on her looks.

“They were talking about … how Hollywood ladies are so silly, and especially that Renée Zellweger,” the 50-year-old beauty revealed to the host, remembering the one time she sat next to two women and a man “on a subway in London” who began negatively talking about celebrities — including herself — who have gone under the knife.

“‘How could she do that?'” Renée recalled them saying. “‘Why would she go and have surgery on her face like we wouldn’t know? She doesn’t look like herself, and you can’t just do that where you go and don’t look like yourself, cause we expect you to look like yourself.'”

The Bridget Jones’ Baby star — who took a 6-year Hollywood hiatus shortly after being criticized for looking nearly unrecognizable at the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards — told host Jesse, 54, that the encounter left her reeling. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s interesting. Anyway, here’s my stop,'” she explained.

Although it’s hard to imagine, Renée dished that the encounter became even more awkward when the man got up, turned around and recognized her immediately. “He said, ‘Oh, God. You’re not … you are!” she said, noting that he probably realized she had heard their entire conversation. “‘But you look just like yourself!’ And I said, ‘Yeah, it’s funny how that works, isn’t it?'”

Even though the public shaming hurt her feelings, the Judy star said it only made her stronger. “It’s only moment where you go, ‘Jeez, wow, that’s pretty painful,'” she explained. “But I don’t live in that. It just visits my life here and there and I’m not really privy on that stuff until someone sends it to me. I don’t seek it out.”

Renée also joked that staying busy is a good way to keep the critics off her mind. “You know, I have dogs and they have to have shots and they need pills twice a day,” she quipped. “There’s a lot, you know. I have other things to do.”

Renée is so inspiring!