Actress Rose McGowan has rushed to defend Renee Zellweger after a film critic took it upon himself to criticise the Bridget Jones' star's face.

Earlier this week, Owen Gleiberman penned a piece for Variety, entitled 'Renee Zellweger: If She No Longer Looks Like Herself, Has She Become a Different Actress?' which included remarks concerning Renee's face. Before we go any further, the below excerpt will give you an idea of the tone of his piece.

"Watching the trailer, I didn’t stare at the actress and think: She doesn’t look like Renée Zellweger. I thought: She doesn’t look like Bridget Jones! "Oddly, that made it matter more. Celebrities, like anyone else, have the right to look however they want, but the characters they play become part of us. I suddenly felt like something had been taken away".

There are more troubling sentences, but Scream star McGowan's response to Gleiberman's views really takes him to task. Rose McGowan, actress and filmmaker, has responded with a piece published in The Hollywood Reporter and it's no exaggeration to see she is disgusted by Glieberman's opinions. Incandescent with rage, she writes:

"Renee Zellweger is a human being, with feelings, with a life, with love and with triumphs and struggles, just like the rest of us. How dare you use her as a punching bag in your mistaken attempt to make a mark at your new job. "How dare you bully a woman who has done nothing but try to entertain people like you. Her crime, according to you, is growing older in a way you don’t approve of. Who are you to approve of anything? What you are doing is vile, damaging, stupid and cruel".

Rose, who previously spoke out about how she was allegedly fired for attempting to expose sexism in Hollywood, went on to describe Gleiberman as "an active endorser of what is tantamount to harassment and abuse of actresses and women". She further called out Renee's colleagues and co-stars for not coming to her defence, stating:

"Any studio that Renee Zellweger has made money for, any co-star she's supported or anyone who takes a percentage of her income should be doing what's right; they should be calling this harassment out".

To demonstrate the discrimination women have endured for so long, Rose finished her open letter by inserting the names of male actors wherever Renee's name was mentioned in Gleiberman's article. It reinforces her point as does the final, succinct line: "You are simply a bully on semi-glossy paper".