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'Vertigo' star Kim Novak calls getting fat injections in her cheeks 'the worst thing I could have done'

Kim Novak, famed for playing the female lead in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Vertigo, says she regrets getting fat injections in her cheeks in 2012, calling it “the worst thing I could have done” in a new interview with the Guardian.

When Novak, now 87, presented an award at the 2014 Oscars alongside Matthew McConaughey, her altered appearance caused a stir — and prompted a pre-White House Donald Trump to tweet that she “should sue her plastic surgeon.” Trump told the New York Times a year later that he regretted the message.

Kim Novak (pictured at the 2014 Oscars) says she regrets getting fat injections in her cheeks. (Photo: Jason LaVeris/WireImage)
Kim Novak (pictured at the 2014 Oscars) says she regrets getting fat injections in her cheeks. (Photo: Jason LaVeris/WireImage)

“I would have preferred I didn't send it,” he said. “That was done in fun, but sometimes you do things in fun and they turn out to be hurtful, and I don't like doing that.”

Speaking to the Guardian, Novak — who turned to painting after retiring from acting — shared how Trump’s insult amplified an already-anxious and “insecure” moment in which she struggled to feel confident. Ultimately, the “Hitchcock blonde” felt that her Oscars cameo was a “disaster.”

Novak starred opposite Jimmy Stewart in 1958's Vertigo. (Photo: Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Novak starred opposite Jimmy Stewart in 1958's Vertigo. (Photo: Archive Photos/Getty Images)

“When Donald Trump took a pop, it became an issue,” she said. “I’m a perfectionist — when I do something in public, I want to look my best. That night, I wore an outfit that wasn’t very glamorous; I felt very insecure and I took a pill to relax, because I was nervous. It was a disaster, unfortunately, but I didn’t let it stop me.

“One day I would like to present another Oscar, and come out there on my horse,” the riding enthusiast, who now lives in rural Oregon, added.

Novak isn’t the only classic star speaking out about past cosmetic procedures. Jane Fonda, 82, recently announced that she is “not going to cut myself up anymore.”

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