Natalie Dormer Declines to Promote Sarah Ferguson Series Due to Epstein Email Controversy

While Natalie Dormer stars as Sarah Ferguson in ITV and Britbox’s The Lady, the actress has chosen to forgo any promotional activities following the emergence of Ferguson’s correspondence with the late Jeffrey Epstein.

“When I accepted the role in The Lady, I understood that portraying the character’s Sarah Ferguson would require a nuanced approach,” Dormer, 43, stated in a Friday, September 26, announcement to Variety. “People are complex, their journeys encompass highs and lows, and my role as an actor is to delve into those elements and express them with authenticity and compassion.”

She further expressed, “Since wrapping the project, new revelations have surfaced that make it impossible for me to align my values with Sarah Ferguson’s actions, which I find unacceptable. Thus, I will not participate in promoting the project.”

Dormer also committed to donating her “entire salary” from The Lady, a miniseries focused on former royal dresser Jane Andrews, who was later convicted of murder, to the National Association for People Abused in Childhood and the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse.

Recently uncovered emails between Ferguson, 65, and Epstein were published by various U.K. news sources, during which the Duchess of York allegedly referred to the disgraced financier as a “supreme friend” and denied labeling him with the term “the P word” in a March 2011 interview, alluding to the word pedophile. This interview was published just weeks before her email was sent.

Ferguson also stated that she did not wish to “cause more problems” for her ex-husband, Prince Andrew. The Duke of York, 65, was stripped of his royal title in 2022 due to his own alleged connections to Epstein, who was arrested in 2019 for sex trafficking minors and died by suicide at age 66 while in custody.

A spokesperson for Ferguson mentioned that her email was sent in response to a supposed threat of defamation that Epstein had levied against her.

“The duchess has expressed regret about her association with Epstein for many years, and like many, she was deceived by his falsehoods,” Ferguson’s representative told the BBC in a statement earlier this month. “Once she became aware of the gravity of the allegations against him, she not only severed ties but also publicly condemned him, leading to threats of legal action from him.”

The spokesperson added, “She stands by her words from that time. This email was a response to advice given to the Duchess to mitigate Epstein’s threats.”

Following the scandal, Ferguson has also been removed from her roles with charities including Julia’s House, Teenage Cancer Trust, the Children’s Literacy Charity, and the British Heart Foundation.

Regarding Dormer, she emphasized that her choice to separate herself from The Lady was “not indicative” of her experience with Left Bank, the production company.

“They are an extraordinary company to work with, and I appreciate the time we spent together,” Dormer conveyed to Variety.