Zosia Mamet has opened up about an emotionally abusive relationship in a personal essay in honour of International Women’s Day – which it obviously still is in the ol’ US of A.
Writing for Refinery29, the ‘Girls‘ star wrote about a time before she landed the role of Shoshana, when she found herself comforting a sobbing boyfriend who, upon learning about her upcoming audition, tearfully told her: “Your ambition is going to break my heart.”
“Suddenly, I found myself comforting a man who had just told me that my ambition, my dreams, my chosen path — EVERYTHING THAT I HAD BEEN WORKING TOWARDS SINCE I WAS A CHILD — was hurtful to him, that I was wrong for having these dreams, these hopes, these goals…and for working hard at them because that made me a bad girlfriend. Right?
“As I stroked his hair I wondered for a split second if he was right, if my ambition was somehow bad, if I was a selfish human for pursuing a career so wholeheartedly. He was a Director of Photography and was ALWAYS working, long hours, hopping from one job to the next, never taking a break in between. When I would express any desire to see him, he would scold me for me being needy, saying ‘Zosia. I’M WORKING,’ as if I was a slow child who somehow didn’t understand the importance of being professional. And god forbid I would tell him I missed him while he was working because that was just ‘added stress.’
“So, let’s break this down into its simplest form. When he put everything he had into his career and left nothing for me or our relationship, he was just doing his job and I should understand. But when I so much as mentioned a career opportunity, I was a heartless heartbreaking bitch.”
This time round, Zosia is sharing in a bid to ask women in positions of privilege to fight for those without it.
Zosia herself works with War Child, a charity that empowers women and children to rebuild their lives in the wake of violent conflict, but is calling for women to fight for those less able to do so everywhere.
“The recent marches in Washington, DC and around the world have shown us the power of sisterhood. Women’s voices are loud and resonant. We are strong; we have moved mountains before. Let us use our guts and our privilege and our solidarity to speak out against the violation of women’s rights and women’s bodies everywhere. So in honour of International Women’s Day, this is my call to arms to all of you women out there — it is our duty to fight together, to empower each other. That means making sure that women everywhere have equal access to opportunity and justice. Our gender does not make us any lesser. Our bodies, minds and souls, our hopes and dreams and desires are not only valuable but capable of changing the world.”
Have a read of her full essay here.
