Kate Beckinsale’s every bit as famous for her whip-smart one-liners – not to mention her endearingly self-deprecating humour – as she is her acting.

Case in point? The star’s perfect response to “ageist” comments on her Instagram.

Earlier this week, Beckinsale decided to share a video with her followers on social media. The clip, riffing on the fact everyone’s been trapped in lockdown since what feels like forever, sees the actor lying on the floor next to her cat.

As Everybody In The Club, All Eyes On Us blares out in the background, Beckinsale – who, just like her cat, is decked out in googly eyes – bobs her head in time to the beat.

“Nightclubs are closed but we have googly eyes,” she captioned the video.

“Mostly it’s the same, except less risk of illness and no one has weed all over the ladies’ loo seat.”

Check it out:

Beckinsale’s short-but-sweet PSA to stay indoors amid the coronavirus pandemic quickly racked up almost 200,000 likes.

While most of the comments went something along the lines of “LOL” and “this is so cute”, there were plenty of trolls who used the video as an opportunity to air their unsought opinions on the actor’s personal life.

“You need a man,” reads one such comment. “Bad.”

There were plenty more comments which were basically variations on this same toxic theme. Until one user, seemingly referencing Beckinsale’s past relationships with Pete Davidson and Goody Grace, took things one step further.

“Why do you keep dating guys that could be your children?” they asked.

Beckinsale, however, knew exactly what to say.

“Every relationship I have had has been solely to annoy you,” she remarked drily.

It’s not the first time that Beckinsale has responded to ageist criticism, and, sadly, we doubt it will be the last.

“It can feel a little bit of a political act to be a woman over 32 who’s having any fun at all,” she previously told The Independent.

“I witness men constantly doing whatever they like, whether in relationships, or deciding to buy a motorbike, or getting a tattoo.

“It hasn’t been interpreted as, ‘why hasn’t he had more children?’ or ‘is he ever going to decide to become a parent?’ or ‘why has he had so many girlfriends?’”

Hear, hear.

Images: Getty