Five studies (total valid N = 834) examined whether objectification (i.e., being treated as a tool or an object to achieve others’ goals) reduces people’s perceived authenticity and subjective well‐being. Participants who experienced more objectification (Studies 1a and 1b), imagined being objectified (Study 2), or recalled a past objectification experience (Study 3) felt less authentic and reported lower levels of subjective well‐being than their counterparts. Moreover, perceived authenticity mediated the link between objectification and subjective well‐being (Studies 1a–3). In addition, offering objectified participants an opportunity to restore authenticity could enhance their well‐being (Study 4). Taken together, our findings highlight the crucial role of authenticity in understanding when and why objectification decreases subjective well‐being and how to ameliorate this relationship. Our findings also imply the effect of authenticity in understanding various psychological outcomes following objectification.