Garcelle Beauvais has been a stunning actress since we first fell in love with her as Fancy on “The Jamie Foxx Show” years ago. But while we may think of her as kinfolk, she’s making it clear that she doesn’t want to be referred to as such in a new interview.
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Specifically, we’re talking about the term “auntie,” a word in which its significance and broader cultural context we’ve waxed poetic about here before. We’ve also shared the group of other famous faces — namely Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey, Mary J. Blige, Gayle King — who don’t like to be attached to that word unless it’s actually coming from blood relatives.
While some in society look at it as a term of endearment, it can come across as a bit ageist and can carry some not-so-fuzzy feelings for some of these women.
Now, it looks like we can add Beauvais into that bunch as the “Coming 2 America” star recently expressed to a journalist how much disdain she has for it. After the Shadow and Act reporter referred to Beauvais as a “bomb auntie of a certain age,” the former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star was quick to shut it down.
“If there is a word I hate, it’s the word auntie unless I’m really your auntie, and unless I’m related to you,” Beauvais said.
Both the actress and the journalist then mutually agreed to just label her as an icon instead of an “auntie.”
The timing of the interaction couldn’t be more ironic as recently resurfaced videos on TikTok have sparked conversations about the exact age that qualifies being an auntie. To be specific, a viral post has asserted that women between the age 28-34 are the “aunties”; ages 35-41 are the “cougars”; ages 42-45 are the “cougar aunties”; and anyone 46 and up are the “thundercats.”
Now we don’t know where this age range originated, but it’s safe to say that it’s not landing well for a handful of women online.
“That ‘Cougar Auntie’ is appaling! Us in our 40’s look younger than who made this list!” wrote one user on TikTok.
“My niece or nephew don’t even call me auntie,” said another.
Added another user: “I need a blackboard explanation on how we jump from cougar auntie to thundercat.”
One other user noted: “Thundercat???? Who the hell came up with these numbers.”
Even “The Real Housewives of Potomac” stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon weren’t too hyped about the age ranges.
“If you’re an auntie, you’re 28 to 34. I disagree with that. That’s like hot girl, hot girl. You’re still a hot girl,” Bryant said with Dixon agreeing.
But absurd age ranges aside, what’s more important to remember is exactly what Beauvais and DuVernay have essentially put forward. Let’s refer to people who they’d prefer to be referred and leave the familiar nicknames to people you actually know in real life.
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