Reese Witherspoon has defended her friend Renee Zellweger, saying the comments about her changing appearance were “cruel”.

The former Bridget Jones star’s attendance at a Hollywood event last month sparked widespread talk about her changing looks.

But Reese told The Hollywood Reporter that she was disgusted by the jibes.

Renee Zellweger at an awards do last month
Renee Zellweger at an awards do last month (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

“It’s horrible. It’s cruel and rude and disrespectful,” she told the magazine. “I can go on and on. It bothers me immensely.”

She added: “Why — and it’s particularly women — why do they have to tear women down? And why do we have to tear other women down to build another woman up? It drives me crazy.”

The comments about Renee, 45, looking unrecognisable even prompted the actress to speak out last month.

Reese Witherspoon at the LA premiere of WILD this week
Reese Witherspoon at the LA premiere of WILD this week (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

She explained her new look saying she was “living a different, happy, more fulfilling life”.

“People don’t know me in my 40s”, she said, adding that she might look different, but “who doesn’t as they get older”.