Kristin Chenoweth: Photo credit: Cyrosites.com
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I don’t follow many celebrities on Twitter. I’m much more in tune to being connected with friends, colleagues, students, publishers, and fellow writers. However, I do follow Kristin Chenoweth, the petite powerhouse actress and singer whose voice belts out songs that can cause the hair on your arms to stand on end. She rose to fame when she played “Glinda” in “Wicked” on Broadway with Idina Menzel. Standing 4’11” in stature, she a little dynamo from Oklahoma. If Sandy is our Hurricane, Chenoweth is our little tornado—a whirlwind of energy.
Last night, she wrote a Tweet that I had to favorite. She said, and I quote:
“True happy successful women usually don’t want to hurt but HELP other women.”
Gosh, I love this quote. In a mere 76 characters, she was able to pinpoint something that’s been disturbing me for years. Why women don’t support other women and instead would rather see them fail is a fascination of mine. When one woman has success, why can’t we support her, just like when we have success we expect to be supported?
The answer lies in two words: ENVY and JEALOUSY.
These two words can get women in a lot of hot water. A woman’s true colors are shown immediately when she badmouths someone who is achieving success, whether it’s mild success or major success. The fact that she can’t be happy for her friend is mind-boggling, for it’s often women who become catty and gossipy, a web of verbal nonsense and whispers spiraling around causing turmoil. It can be equated to bullying, and quite frankly, it’s not acceptable. However, as a very wise person once said to me, “Just because people age, it doesn’t mean they grow up.” Indeed; it’s so sad, but so true.
Women should support other women, not try to tear them down. Kristin Chenoweth surely has got that right.
