The actor Zawe Ashton has revealed that she has suffered incidents of “bullying, demeaning and gaslighting” during her career.
The 38-year-old, best known for her role in Manchester-based comedy series Fresh Meat, stars in new Regency period drama Mr Malcolm’s List.
Ashton opened up about the difficulties she experienced getting a series commissioned and produced, telling Tatler magazine: “There was just this weird resistance. And bullying. Bullying, demeaning, gaslighting. I was yelled at by one producer because I was questioning something about my own work.”
Ashton said the project, which she said was similar to HBO’s series Girls, eventually ended up in “development hell” and put on hold.
The London-born star, who is engaged to actor Tom Hiddleston, also detailed the struggle of planning a pregnancy as an actor given the “mixed messaging” that women in the industry receive.
She said: “You’re told, ‘Don’t get pregnant’ but also ‘Don’t leave it too long’ because then you’re going to be an old maid. I’ve been prehistoric in this industry since I was 25. The mixed messaging is rough and has to be addressed.”
Ashton, who wrote a play in 2019 called For All the Women Who Thought They Were Mad exploring how workplace dynamics affect black women, has a villainous role in superhero blockbuster The Marvels on the horizon.
In an interview with the Guardian last week, Ashton said she landed in New York for the Mr Malcolm’s List premiere just as news broke that Roe v Wade had been overturned in June.
“I thought: ‘Oh God, there’s nothing more tone-deaf I could be doing right now than promoting a lighthearted movie.’ I was also very aware that my presence in that promotion would be as a pregnant person,” she said.
Ashton argued that it is more important than ever that the different journeys of child-bearing people are acknowledged.
“We’re having very important conversations about the autonomy we have over our bodies. What better autonomy could I have than just doing it how I wanted to do it?”
