The casting of 35-year-old Emmy Rossum to play 25-year-old Tom Holland's mom makes sense in the context of Hollywood sexism

Jezebel

"On the surface, it’s funny: A 35-year-old woman is a 25-year-old man’s mother, while 35-year-old women are still ostensibly matching with 25-year-old men on Tinder!" Kylie Cheung says of the casting controversy over Apple TV+'s The Crowded Room. "Then, at some point, it becomes just another bleak reminder of the gendered ageism that pervades Hollywood and relegates all actresses above the age of 29 to supporting roles that often cater to discriminatory, one-dimensional archetypes about women 'of a certain age.' We rarely see storytelling about women above 40, let alone women above 40 who are sexually active, living full lives, or otherwise defying stereotypes about the supposed sexless misery of aging as a woman. Hollywood ageism is a testament to societal ageism—as women get older, both the entertainment industry and society at large want them to either disappear or become invisible matrons."