Natalie Dormer Won’t Promote Show in Which She Plays Sarah Ferguson Over Duchess’ Epstein Ties
Actress Natalie Dormer will not promote her upcoming drama, The Lady, in which she portrays Sarah Ferguson, because of the Duchess of York’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein. She has also said she will donate her salary from the series to charities focused on child abuse, Variety reports.
Ferguson was tied to Epstein through her former husband, Prince Andrew (they married in 1986 and divorced 10 years later). Andrew was a longtime Epstein associate, who settled a high-profile sexual assault case with one of the disgraced financier’s most prominent accusers, the late Virginia Giuffre. (Andrew has long denied Giuffre’s allegations.)
While The Lady is not about Epstein or Prince Andrew, Dormer appeared to make her decision following the recent leak of an email Ferguson sent Epstein in 2011, apologizing for comments she made about him after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from girls as young as 14.
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“When I agreed to take the role in The Lady, I knew portraying the script’s Sarah Ferguson would require nuance,” Dormer said in a statement. “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. Since completing the project, new information has come to light that makes it 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.”
She added that she would donate her salary to groups like the National Association for People Abused in Childhood and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.
The 2011 email from Ferguson to Epstein was leaked last weekend, first appearing in The Daily Mail. In the letter, Ferguson “humbly” apologized to Epstein, whom she called a “dear friend.” The letter was reportedly sent after Ferguson distanced herself from Epstein in an interview with The Evening Standard, where she also responded to recent reports that Epstein had given her over $15,000 to cover some debts.
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In the Evening Standard interview, Ferguson called her involvement with Epstein a “gigantic error of judgment,” adding, “I abhor pedophilia and any sexual abuse of children.”
But in her letter to Epstein afterwards, Ferguson reportedly wrote, “I was instructed to act with the utmost speed if I would have any chance of holding on to my career as a children’s book author and a children’s philanthropist. As you know, I did not, absolutely not, say the ‘P word’ [pedophile] about you, but understand it was reported that I did.”
In a statement shared with The Guardian, a spokesperson for Ferguson said the duchess felt compelled to send the email after Epstein allegedly threatened to sue her for defamation over her comments to the Standard.
“The duchess spoke of her regret about her association with Epstein many years ago, and as they have always been, her first thoughts are with his victims,” the spokesperson said. “Like many people, she was taken in by [Epstein’s] lies. As soon as she was aware of the extent of the allegations against him, she not only cut off contact but condemned him publicly, to the extent that he then threatened to sue her for defamation for associating him with pedophilia. She does not resile from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats.”
While The Lady has nothing to do with Epstein, it does fictionalize another high-profile scandal tangential to the Royal Family: The 2001 conviction of former royal dresser, Jane Andrews, for the murder of her boyfriend, Thomas Cressman. The show was produced by Left Bank Pictures, which was behind The Crown, and it stars Mia McKenna-Bruce as Andrews and Ed Speleers as Cressman.