While Natalie Dormer is portraying Sarah Ferguson in an upcoming British drama series, she’s nixing ties to the project following revelations over the Duchess of York’s alleged connections to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The “Game of Thrones” star said she won’t promote ITV’s “The Lady” following a recently surfaced email said to have been sent by Ferguson to Epstein.
In the 2011 correspondence, Ferguson — who was married to Prince Andrew from 1986 to 1996 — seemingly kissed up to the wealthy financier after publicly rejecting him following his 2008 conviction for a sex offense against a child. She even went so far as to refer to him as a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend,” according to the email published by several U.K. outlets.
In a statement following the release of the email, Dormer said it’s “impossible” for her to reconcile Ferguson’s “inexcusable” behavior.
“I knew portraying the script’s Sarah Ferguson would require nuance,” she told Variety on Friday. “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, the actress continued, “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.”
Dormer, 43, also revealed she has given her entire salary from the show to two charities focused on child abuse.
“In keeping with my commitment to the well-being of children, I have donated my entire salary from this project to the National Association for People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse,” she shared.
In response to the controversy, a rep for Ferguson rationalized that she only emailed the convicted pedophile after he threatened to “destroy her” in a “Hannibal Lecter-style” phone call.
“People don’t understand how terrible Epstein was. He said he would destroy the York family and he was quite clear on that. He said he would destroy me,” she said through her spokesperson, according to The Guardian.
Ferguson, 65, has subsequently been dropped from multiple charities for which she served as a patron or ambassador.
Ferguson’s ex-husband, Prince Andrew, has long been tied to Epstein. He was accused of abuse by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked by Epstein and paid to have sex with Andrew when she was 17. The prince has denied the allegations but settled a lawsuit filed by Giuffre, making a donation to her charity supporting sex abuse victims.
Epstein died by suicide at New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
