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Jessica Chastain Showed Support for Women in Iran With a Statement-Making ‘Mahsa Amini’ Shirt

Photo: Getty

Jessica Chastain is once again showing her support for the women of Iran, many of whom have been protesting the country’s extreme laws regarding how women dress and behave for the past two months.

Stepping out in New York City to appear on Live With Kelly and Ryan, the Oscar winner wore a tailored brown suit and a white T-shirt with the name Mahsa Amini printed over and over in pink capital letters.

Photo: Getty

On September 16, 22-year-old Amini died after being detained by police for not following the restrictive dress code, per CNN. Outrage followed and, according to a human rights group, at least 300 protesters have died. Meanwhile, clips of women removing and sometimes destroying their hijabs have gone viral online. Celebrities, too, have taken notice; Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche both publicly cut their hair in solidarity with Iranian women, while Meghan Markle was recently spotted wearing a T-shirt with the Farsi slogan “Zan zindgi azadi”, which translates to “Women life freedom”.

Though she’s kept her signature red hair, this isn’t the first time Jessica Chastain has shown support for the cause. She posted on Instagram three times in September, writing, “I stand with the women of Iran and will amplify their voices from afar. When one woman is attacked, it is an attack on as all 🖤.”

Photo: Getty

Chastain has also advocated for women’s equality closer to home, fighting for pay parity in her movie projects and helping women of color, like her friend Octavia Spencer, do the same. Spencer recalled Chastain’s commitment in 2018, telling a panel, “I love [Jessica] because she’s walking the walk and she’s actually talking the talk…. She said, ‘Octavia we’re gonna get you paid on this film.” I said, ‘I would love to do your film, but here’s the thing: I’m gonna have to get paid.’ She said, ‘Of course, and you and I are going to be tied together. We’re gonna be favored nations, and we’re gonna make the same thing. And you’re gonna make that amount.’ Fast-forward to last week, we’re making five times what we asked for.”

Originally published in Glamour.com

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