--- title: Dakota Johnson on 'Brutal' Ageism in Hollywood description: In an interview for the cover story of the February issue of Vogue U.K., Johnson spoke out about ageism in the film industry. canonical: https://time.com/4167484/dakota-johnson-hollywood-ageism-fifty-shades-of-grey-criticism/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-05T15:52:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:44.385Z og:title: Dakota Johnson Speaks Out About 'Brutal' Ageism in Hollywood og:description: "No matter how tough you are, sometimes there's the feeling of not being wanted" og:url: https://time.com/4167484/dakota-johnson-hollywood-ageism-fifty-shades-of-grey-criticism/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea3e21ff9227f8da/698877830b72e303306e77df/dakota-johnson-ageism.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: 19th Annual Hollywood Film Awards - Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dakota Johnson Speaks Out About 'Brutal' Ageism in Hollywood twitter:description: "No matter how tough you are, sometimes there's the feeling of not being wanted" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea3e21ff9227f8da/698877830b72e303306e77df/dakota-johnson-ageism.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Dakota Johnson Speaks Out About 'Brutal' Ageism in Hollywood > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 5, 2016 3:52 PM UTC  Dakota Johnson arrives at the 19th Annual Hollywood Film Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 1, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. Dakota Johnson arrives at the 19th Annual Hollywood Film Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 1, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. Steve Granitz/WireImage  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Jan 5, 2016 3:52 PM UTC Thanks to her role as Anastasia Steele in [_Fifty Shades of Grey_](http://time.com/3693953/fifty-shades-of-grey-photo-shoot/)_,_ Dakota Johnson has had a breakout year. But in an interview for the cover story of the [February issue of Vogue U.K.](http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2016/01/04/february-british-vogue-cover-reveal-dakota-johnson), the 26-year-old actress spoke out about ageism in the film industry, using her mother, 58-year-old [Melanie Griffith](http://time.com/3718611/oscars-fifty-shades-of-grey-dakota-johnson-melanie-griffith/), and grandmother, 85-year-old Tippi Hedren, as reference points. “Why isn’t my mother in movies? She’s an extraordinary actress! Why isn’t my grandmother in movies? This industry is f—ing brutal,” Johnson said. “No matter how tough you are, sometimes there’s the feeling of not being wanted. It’s absurd and cut-throat. Whenever I have downtime, I’m unsure that I will ever work again. I don’t know what it is, but it’s a definite thing that happens to me.” She also explained that [despite the criticism](http://time.com/3706418/fifty-shades-of-grey-50-el-james-reviews-critics-valentine/) _Fifty Shades of Grey_ faced, she doesn’t regret her role in the film. “I’m proud of _Fifty Shades of Grey_. I don’t need to distance myself from that. The more work I do, the more the general public sees the different things I can do. Do I think it opened doors? Yeah. More people know my name.” ### Fifty Shades of Grey: TIME's Exclusive Portraits of the Cast and Director  Dakota Johnson (Anastasia “Ana” Steele) and Jamie Dornan (Christian Grey) photographed at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2015. Malerie Marder for TIME  Dakota Johnson (Anastasia “Ana” Steele) photographed at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2015. Malerie Marder for TIME  Sam Taylor-Johnson (director) photographed at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on Jan. 13, 2015. 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