By Soo Kim
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Brooke Shields, the Hollywood actress, reflected on career and life—including on raising her "a**hole"-aged daughter—in a candid interview Monday in the latest episode of the podcast Armchair Expert hosted by actor Dax Shepard.
The 56-year-old mother of two daughters, shared with her husband producer/writer Chris Henchy, spoke openly about the challenges of raising teenagers and being sexualized at a young age.
My Kids Are '18 and A**hole'
Shields commented on juggling FaceTime calls with her kids while working. Asked how old her children are, she cheekily replied: "18 and a**hole," which prompted Dax Shepard to correctly guess her youngest (Grier) is 15 years old.
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Sarcastically noting how "it's so much fun," raising teenagers, Shields recalled: "[Grier] just FaceTimed me about this dress that she wants to buy and I'm trying to tell her what is the best plan of action to get said dress...just in case it doesn't fit...
"Then I get a text [from Grier] saying, 'I really don't appreciate the way you talk to me. I think that you talk to me like I am a child' and I'm like 'hmm, okay'," Shields said laughing.
The 'Practically Criminal' Barbara Walters Interview
Referring to a previous interview Shields did with veteran broadcast journalist Barbara Walters (who at the time had asked the actress what her body measurements were), Shepard commented: "That Barbara Walters interview is maddening."
Shields replied: "It's practically criminal," adding "It is not journalism."
The Walters interview was among several Shields did following her iconic 1980s Calvin Klein jeans advertisement, which saw a 15-year-old Shields posing and asking: "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."
In the interview, Walters asked: "Brooke, what are your measurements?," noting "I think when people see you, they don't realize how tall and slim you are."
Speaking recently to Vogue back in late October about the backlash she faced following the controversial ad, Shields said she was "naive."
"I didn't think it had to do with underwear...didn't think it [the ad] was sexual in nature.
"What was shocking to me was to be berated by 'oh, you knew this was happening...you were thinking these thoughts'. I was a kid. And where I was, I was naive," she explained.
My Mom Was 'Always Drunk'
Speaking about a previous interview she'd done alongside her mother, Shields recalled: "My mother couldn't do anything without a couple of pops of something. She was always drunk. I look at her face and know exactly...
"And they [the press] never wanted my answer, they never wanted the answer. They wanted their point of view," she added.
Shepard spoke about the "competing narratives" the press had created around Shields while she was a teenager - that she was "overtly sexual...a sexual tigress" but also "naive" and "being taken advantage of.
"They [the press] couldn't figure out what they were trying to say about you," he explained, to which Shields replied: "They were mad at themselves for not figuring it out and taking it out on me."
Newsweek has contacted the representatives for Walters for comment.
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