Jasmine Guy Keeps It Classy In Addressing Her Ageist Critics

Between the ages of 25 to 31 years old, actress Jasmine Guy played high-class Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (later Wayne) on the beloved Black sitcom, A Different World, during its original run from 1987 to 1993.

A near 40 years later since its debut, the series has returned in a made-for-Netflix revival that took over the streaming platform this past weekend. Guy returns to reintroduce a well-aged version of Whitley, yet some critics on social media couldn’t help but make unnecessary and exaggerated claims in regards to her appearance as a 64-year-old woman.

Much like her sassy claim-to-fame character, Jasmine Guy recently handled the criticism with class and a few words that affirm beauty goes hand-in-hand with aging.

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“The internet can be brutal to women as we grow older. It asks us to celebrate life while criticizing every sign that we’ve lived it,” Guy wrote candidly in a recent Instagram post (seen above), completing her statement by adding, “Growing older brings change, and I won’t pretend every change is easy. But beauty, style, and joy don’t have an expiration date. Let’s spend less time judging ourselves and each other, and more time loving each other, making memories, and living the life we’re here to live.”

It was enough to get the women of The View talking, who also brought up the similar remarks made against pop diva Madonna, who at 68 years old dominated the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (September 27). “These women are gorgeous,” exclaimed Whoopi Goldberg, with fellow co-host Sunny Hostin also stating, “It is such a blessing to be able to age” as she identifies her own experiences with aging gracefully as a 58-year-old woman.

Overall, the goal should be to celebrate these women and anyone going through the beautiful process of aging instead of critiquing based on conditioned beauty standards.

We stand fully in support of Jasmine Guy’s message, and she definitely makes gold look grand!