Natalie Dormer Refuses to Promote New Show After Scandalous Sarah Ferguson Email to Jeffrey Epstein
Natalie Dormer will not promote her upcoming TV series The Lady after learning about questionable emails Sarah Ferguson sent to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Natalie Dormer to play Sarah Ferguson in ‘The Lady’
The Game of Thrones alum will play the ex-wife of Prince Andrew in the BritBox/ITV show, which focuses on the story of Jane Andrews (Mia McKenna-Bruce), a former royal aide and dresser for the Duchess of York. Andrews went to prison in 2001 after murdering her boyfriend.
Dormer’s move to distance herself from Ferguson comes after the Mail on Sunday reported on an email that the royal sent to Epstein just weeks after publicly cutting ties with the disgraced financier.
“You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family,” the duchess wrote in the 2011 message (via BBC).
“I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read and I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that,” Ferguson continued.
The email was sent not long after Ferguson told an interviewer that borrowing money from Epstein was a “gigantic error of judgement” and that it was a good thing he went to prison in 2008.
‘Game of Thrones’ star will donate her salary to charity
Several prominent UK charities have cut ties with Ferguson since the email was revealed. Now, Dormer is also making it clear she doesn’t condone her actions. The actor says that she while she knew the duchess was a complicated figure when she agreed to play her, the latest twist in her saga is just too much.
“When I agreed to take the role in The Lady, I knew portraying the script’s Sarah Ferguson would require nuance,” she said in a statement (via Deadline). “People are layered, their journeys are full of highs and lows, and as an actor, my job is to lean into those elements and bring them to life with honesty and empathy.”
But now that the email to Epstein is public, Dormer says it is “impossible for me to reconcile my values with Sarah Ferguson’s behavior, which I believe is inexcusable. For that reason, I will not be taking part in the promotion of the project.”
The Tudors star said she would donate her entire salary from The Lady to the National Association for People Abused in Childhood and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.
Insider says Duchess of York sent questionable email after threats from Jeffrey Epstein
Ferguson has not made a statement about the Epstein email. But her former spokesperson James Henderson has said that she only sent it after receiving a disturbing and threatening phone call from Epstein after she disowned him in the press.
“He said he would destroy the York family and he was quite clear on that,” Henderson said (via The Guardian). “He said he would destroy me.” Epstein used “a Hannibal Lecter-type voice,” he added. “It was very cold and calm and really menacing and nasty.”
Ferguson felt “huge” pressure to protect her family from Epstein, Henderson shared, noting that this took place “long before the duke’s life had been ruined by his association with Epstein.”
Andrew’s friendship with Epstein and a related sexual abuse lawsuit eventually led to him being forced to step down from his royal duties. He also lost the right to use his military titles and is no longer addressed as “His Royal Highness.”
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