Joanna Lumley insists being a 'victim' has become 'the new fashion'
'Absolutely Fabulous' actress Joanna Lumley has claimed women used to be "a lot tougher" before being a "victim" became "the new fashion".
Joanna Lumley has claimed women used to be "a lot tougher" before being a "victim" became "the new fashion".
The 76-year-old actress has addressed the #MeToo movement - which has seen people speak out against sexual abuse and harassment in Hollywood, the wider entertainment industry and society as a whole - and insisted people have "gone mad".
She told Prospect magazine: "If someone whistled at you in the street, it didn’t matter. If someone was groping, we slapped their hands.
"We were quite tough and looked after ourselves… The new fashion is to be a victim, a victim of something. It’s pathetic. We have gone mad.”
Meanwhile, the former Bond Girl - who starred in 1979's 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' - has also reflected on her rise to fame over a decade earlier when she was cast in 'The New Avengers' TV series.
She said: "For two years I was on television all the time. People could remember my name. And that’s one of the greatest things as an actor, to be remembered—for good or bad!”
While the pay left something to be desired, she admitted the "name recognition changed my life".
She added: “When people started to stop me in the street, I suddenly realised that I had stopped being a private person.
"At the time I thought I would for ever be known as the 'Avengers' girl; even when I was old and grey.”
However, she soon realised life in the spotlight "could also be hell", when it came to fans approaching her in the street for photos and autographs, and having to respond to mountains of fan mail, "most of which isn’t even stamped”.
She decided to "try to pretend" to love that life, rather than being "cross" over the inconveniences.
She said: "Now with selfies I pretend to absolutely love it. Because otherwise you would go mad. But hell — you do go mad. They are so intrusive."
