There’s no denying that Zendaya has one heck of a cinematic lineup for 2026, starring in four major films and the much-anticipated third season of HBO’s Euphoria. Starring in The Drama releasing 3 April, alongside Robert Pattinson, followed by Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey releasing 17 July, Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31 and finally Dune: Part Three on December 18. No matter how exciting this may be to any fellow fans, it seems the actress is approaching the coming year with some caution. “I just hope you guys don’t get sick of me this year”, she shared with Fandango recently, going on to state that she’s “gonna have to go into hiding” after this run. Whilst this may be passed off as a comedic, light-hearted yet self-effacing comment, it exposes something more poignant and disturbing in the entertainment industry.
Now, I’m as much a Robert Pattinson fan as the next guy — probably more so if I’m being honest. But there is not the same level of concern about over-exposure for him as there is for Zendaya. Pattinson is set to star alongside the actress in not only The Drama, but also The Odyssey and Dune: Part Three. Last year he was also the lead in Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 and Lynne Ramsay’s Die My Love alongside Jennifer Lawrence. Safe to say, Pattinson has been kept booked and busy. I will never complain about this, but I am inclined to point out that Zendaya has not been the lead in a film for two years, and yet, at the beginning of this 4-film run she is pre-emptively anticipating negativity around her presence in the public eye.
This is built into pretty much every woman’s PR strategy nowadays. Margot Robbie made similar comments in 2023 near the end of her historic press run for Barbie. She stated in an interview with Deadline that “everyone’s probably sick of the sight of me for now,” going on to express anxieties that, if she did another movie immediately, “people would say, ‘Her again? We just did a whole summer with her. We’re over it.’”
This cycle of commodification is deeply entrenched in the way we interact with female celebrities and actresses. It seems that these actresses are only allowed time in the spotlight as long as the public still finds them ‘likeable’. Whilst likeability is, no doubt, an extremely subjective idea, there are some pretty clear links between patriarchal gendered standards and our treatment of women in the public eye. Being too loud or assertive, being too dedicated or successful in one’s career, not adhering closely enough to unattainable beauty standards, or taking up too much time or space. These are all crimes punishable by exile from the public eye.
In a hyper-digital, disconnected online world, everything is so quick and fleeting, and we require a continuous recycling of faces and personalities. Patriarchal society does not allow women to be long-term presences in the public eye or to grow in their own artistry or creativity before being cast out for being too ‘annoying’ or ‘unlikable’ for some unnameable, irrational reason. After all, performing well in your career or putting that at the forefront of your public image as a woman negates other gendered expectations that are centred on domesticity and motherhood.
The fact of the matter is that our society does not allow for women to thrive or succeed financially, career-wise, or in terms of true independence. To be a celebrity is to inherently rely on public engagement and viewership. Female creatives, therefore, end up having to toe a very careful line between maintaining a steady fanbase whilst not being too visible at the risk of being completely shut out, demonised, or rejected. My hope is that we get better at noticing these patterns of misogyny so that, someday, actresses and other female celebrities don’t feel the need to preface a press run by assuring audiences that they won’t be around for too long.
“Zendaya NMACC 01” by News18 Assam/Northeast is licensed under CC BY 3.0.