Kylie Minogue on entertainment industry: 'Would be nice not to be asked about your age'
Dominique Farrell
Australian popstar Kylie Minogue has said it would be "nice" not to be asked about her age adding that the industry still has "a way to go".
The 57-year-old stars in the upcoming three-part Netflix series, titled Kylie, which documents the singer's rise to fame.
During the series, she opens up about the misogyny and criticism she faced as a young star, adding that despite people being more open-minded these days there is still more to be done.
Speaking to the Press Association, she said:
"I think it has changed, but it can still do with more change.
"It’s in motion.
"It would be nice not to be asked about your age, I’m still asked about it. I don’t know that Mick Jagger gets asked about it.
"I think as a whole we’re much more open-minded. But there will always be a way to go."
She explained how one of her best friends wanted to be a sports presenter in the 90s, however, was never considered at the time.
The docuseries features footage from her childhood and her early days starring in Australian soap Neighbours, as well as interviews with friends and family including her former co-star, Jason Donovan, sister Dannii and musician Nick Cave.
In a separate interview, she said she wants fans to understand she is "not invincible" after the release of her new documentary.
Speaking at a Q&A in central London on Monday, she said making it had been "good" for her and had come "from the heart".
"There's light and shade for sure," she said of the film. "We're all human."
Asked by host broadcaster Clara Amfo what the singer hoped her fans would understand about her after watching the film, she said:
"I can imagine that fans and maybe even broader than that... maybe that's one of the reasons that I have this relationship with my fans and the broader audience, is they can see, don't know if I tried to do this, again it's very weird to say this about myself, but I'm not invincible.
"I can get the job done, and I can shine, hopefully.
"But I think that, I don't know, that they understand that you could be me, we could co-exist."
On some of the public scrutiny she has faced during her career, which is featured in the film, she said:
"There's always a lot of talk about how much I've changed.
"We all change through life, and grow and develop, and certainly that's evident, as an artist.
"Like, I was famous before I knew what I was doing, so you know, and there came a lot of the criticism and the hardship with that, but what's illuminating to me is, in so many ways, I haven't changed.
"Like, the way of dealing with stuff from that time that you're talking about is kind of how I do it now. Like, I read the room, do what I have to do, feel the fear and do it anyway."
Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in May 2005, aged 36, and underwent a lumpectomy and chemotherapy in Paris.
She was given the all-clear in 2006.
News coverage of her cancer diagnosis caused an unprecedented increase in bookings for mammograms, referred to as the 'Kylie effect'.
Also speaking at the event at the Spotify Listening Lounge, the series' director, Donegal filmmaker Michael Harte, said it was like a "beam of light" when I walked into the room when I first met Kylie.
"I remember coming in and there was an energy to Kylie, and I was like, 'Wow, I hadn't experienced this before'. It was just intoxicating.
"There was a vibe that I thought, 'If we can take this and turn it into a movie, it'll be f****** electric'."
The director said making the film had been "two years of joy".
He was struck by her sense of humour, hard work, and "extraordinary" talent, but mostly by her resilience.
Kylie premieres on Netflix on 20 May.
RTÉ Entertainment.