Actress Ashley Judd has claimed she became the victim of “everyday sexism”.

The 49-year-old took to Facebook Live to detail an incident with an airport employee, who referred to her as “sweetheart”, prompting a dispute between the pair, reports usmagazine.com.

Speaking down the camera lens as she made her way through the airport, Judd explained: “This is the kind of thing to me that happens which I categorise as everyday sexism. And it is so easy to let it go and not to speak up, particularly when it is so easy for someone to push back and say ‘Oh, I was just being polite’.”

She added: “So I was coming through security and a guy said ‘Hey sweetheart’, and I said, ‘I’m not your sweetheart, I am your client.’ So I was already setting a boundary. When I was setting my things out, he said, ‘Hey nice dress!'”

The “Divergent” actress said the airport employee’s behaviour was sexist. “I didn’t hear him say anything about the attire of any of the other folks in the entire line and I am in one of the most travelled airports in the world,” Judd said. “I’m surrounded by lots and lots of other people dressed in lots of different kinds of dress,” she added.