Jessica Chastain says it’s ‘great’ when women can decide not to have children

Actor has been a vocal supporter of abortion rights in the US

Actor Jessica Chastain has said she thinks it’s “great” when women can decide not to have children.

The Oscar-winning star, 45, said that in part because her upbringing as a child and grandchild of teen mothers, she is empathetic of a woman’s right to choose when or if to have children.

“It’s very important to me that women have access to contraceptives and freedom over that,” she told The Guardian.

“The problem is that my mom, my grandmother and all the women in my family were pregnant when they were 17, because they were never given that choice.

“Birth control is expensive. And they couldn’t rely on men to do their part, to be responsible. So it’s very important to me that women have access to contraceptives and freedom over that,” she continued.

“Because I know a lot of people are freaked out when women decide not to have children. But I think that’s great.”

She added that there is almost 20 years between herself and her youngest sibling as her mother later had children with Chastain’s stepfather, and she decided to wait until she was over 40 to have her own two children.

Chastain also opened up about her attitude towards women who have worked with alleged sexual predators in the film and TV industry.

“It’s complicated,” the actor, who has been vocal about sexual harassment in entertainment, said. “Even now, with #MeToo, people will say, ‘Are you angry with this actress, who spoke in support of this person?’

“I will never be angry at a woman for having to do what she had to do to support herself and survive, because she’s playing by different rules than the men.”

Chastain recently had to clear up that she was not offended by the lyrics of Tammy Wynette’s ‘Stand By Your Man’, in light of starring as the country star in biopic series George and Tammy.

In a tweet on Saturday (11 December), she wrote: “I’ve said multiple times that the song is about standing by someone and forgiving them through difficulty. Doesn’t mean you need to stay married to them, proven by Tammy herself.

“I love the song. Grateful that I got to learn beyond the stereotype and see it the way Tammy did,” she added.

“I have never said that I was personally offended by the lyrics of Stand By Your Man. Any article stating otherwise is just trying to get clicks.”