Nikki Glaser, 41, says the pressure to look good grows when you have the means to afford it.
On Monday’s episode of “Armchair Expert,” the comedian spoke about Hollywood’s beauty standards and why having the resources to change her appearance can make it harder to ignore them.
“I’m kind of obsessed with this thing of like, looking a certain way gets you stuff in life, and how that’s unfair if you’re not just born gorgeous,” Glaser told podcast hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman. “But then now there’s this whole thing that you can become gorgeous with enough money.”
Now that beauty is something people can buy, not investing in it can start to feel like a personal failure, she said.
“This sounds so horrible — and I would hate listening to this if I were not financially doing so well — but there’s a burden that comes with the money that you can do whatever you want to look the way that you’re like, I’m failing because I’m not doing the BBL and the facelift and the lasers,” Glaser said.
Moreover, there’s always a new beauty treatment or product that’s coming out that people could try, she said.
“It’s like that failure that you feel of anything that you could do that you’re not doing,” Glaser said.
She added that it’s hard not to wonder what more she could achieve if she met those beauty standards more fully.
“If you were prettier, think of what could you get? Because I don’t think that my career and my success is based solely on my talent. It’s based on looking good on TV, too,” she said.
Glaser said it’s unrealistic to ignore how much looks matter in her industry. “Because it works. The hotter you are, the more you don’t have to work,” she added.
Glaser isn’t alone. Her comments reflect a wider reality in the entertainment industry, where many female actors have spoken about the pressure to maintain their appearance.
Florence Pugh has called the experience of being a young woman in Hollywood “exhausting,” while Jennifer Love Hewitt has said some fans have a “hard time accepting” that she no longer looks like she did in her 20s. “White Lotus” actor Carrie Coon has also said she’s been typecast as older because she hasn’t gotten Botox.
But the expectation to invest in appearance extends beyond Hollywood — and can influence hiring, pay, promotions, and power in other workplaces.
Studies have found that workers perceived as better-looking benefit from a wage advantage.
Several people told Business Insider in January that they’ve gained confidence and even a competitive edge at work after undergoing cosmetic procedures.
In another case, a publicist told Business Insider she spends around $12,000 a year on Botox, hair, and nails to keep up with the beauty standards in Utah, where she is based. She added that in public relations, there’s an unspoken rule to maintain a youthful, polished appearance.
