Jasmine Guy is responding to the wave of comments about her appearance since the A Different World sequel hit Netflix, and she did it with grace instead of gloves.
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The new series premiered September 24, exactly 39 years after the original first aired, and it brought Whitley Gilbert back into living rooms for a whole new generation. Guy returns alongside Kadeem Hardison as Dwayne Wayne, and the story follows their youngest daughter Deborah, played by Tony winner Maleah Joi Moon, as she starts her freshman year at Hillman College. The cast celebrated with a premiere at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College in Atlanta, with Debbie Allen, Cree Summer, and Darryl M. Bell all in the building.
The excitement came with a side of cruelty. As soon as episodes started streaming, comment sections filled up with people saying Jasmine Guy looks old, comparing her to the Whitley they remember from the late eighties and early nineties as if more than three decades had not passed.
She did not argue. She did not drag anybody by name. She posted a set of photos in full glam and wrote about what the moment really says about how women are treated.
“The internet can be brutal to women as we grow older,” she wrote on Instagram. “It asks us to celebrate life while criticizing every sign that we’ve lived it.”
Jasmine Guy did not pretend aging is always easy either. “Growing older brings change, and I won’t pretend every change is easy,” she continued. “But beauty, style, and joy don’t have an expiration date.”
She closed with a request that reads like advice for the whole timeline. “Let’s spend less time judging ourselves and each other, and more time loving each other, making memories, and living the life we’re here to live.”
The post also shouted out her glam team, crediting makeup artist @geishaboii, hairstylist @derekjhair, and costume designer @provifulp, and tagged it with #hillmancollege and #atlanta, a nod to the city where the sequel was filmed.
The double standard she named is familiar. Fans spent years begging for A Different World to come back, and when it finally did, some of those same fans turned around and punished one of its stars for looking her age. Guy is 64. Whitley Gilbert was a college student when audiences met her in 1987. The show itself is built on the passage of time, with the original class now raising the next one, and Guy’s face is part of that story.
Her supporters flooded the replies with love, and her message has become one of the most shared moments of the premiere week. For Jasmine Guy, the point was never to prove anybody wrong. She showed up, did the work, and reminded everyone that Whitley grew up, and so did the rest of us.
I’m sorry but the issue is not about women aging. Although it is not kind to comment on the subject, the truth is Jasmine Guy looks much older than her current age. That is what everyone is astonished about. She does not look her age.
Whether she looks her age or not, many miss the point – i.e., the importance of appreciating a person’s journey by lifting them up absent superficial/rude comments that reflect one’s self hate!
She looks 64 to me lol
I am grateful to her, female cast of A different world, Brooke Shields and others who chose to age gracefully. They didn’t go under the dreaded knife to look like a Puma in the face. In her prime, she was one of the most beautiful in the industry. I have much respect for them bucking the beauty standard.
I agree with Kim, she does look older than her Different World peers. We all age differently and Jasmine’s was and is different. She is beautiful nonetheless! She is also still thin, I think as we age butting on a little weight doesn’t hurt.
I think we have been conditioned to think what a 64 year old looks like because of Hollywood standards and botox barbies. Who decided what a 64 year old looks like…goodness! Everyone ages differently. Also, Jasmine always looked older than her age even in her twenties. Regardless, it’s so cruel to focus on her appearance. Getting older is a privilege and a blessing.