A Bridgerton actress has accused Netflix of giving her “no support” after she suffered two psychotic breaks.
Ruby Barker, who played Marina Thompson in the regency drama, has alleged that her mental health issues were hushed up so as to not damage the show’s reputation before it premiered in December 2020.
Speaking on Oxford University’s The LOAF podcast, Barker, 26, said she had been “deteriorating” during filming, a situation exacerbated by her character’s storyline — Marina becomes pregnant out of wedlock and then attempts to induce an abortion.
“It was a really tormenting place for me to be because my character was very alienated, very ostracised, on her own, under these horrible circumstances,” Barker said.
A psychotic break occurs when a person begins to lose touch with reality due to a decline in their mental health. Symptoms can include hallucinations, delusions and confused thoughts.
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Her first illness came a week after filming for season one had finished, she explained. She was checked into the hospital where she remained for about a year, before being discharged when the show was about to launch.
Barker alleged that Netflix and the production company Shondaland, founded by Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes, had kept her condition on the “down-low because the show was going to be coming out”.
“Not a single person from Netflix, not a single person from Shondaland since I have had two psychotic breaks from that show, have even contacted me or even emailed me to ask me if I’m OK or if I would benefit from any sort of aftercare or support,” she continued. “Nobody.”
Based on the Julia Quinn book series, Bridgerton’s first season was watched by a record 82 million households around the world, propelling its stars to global fame. It was Barker’s first high-profile role, after small appearances in TV shows including Doctors and Cobra.
She said that her life “was changing drastically overnight and yet there was still no support and there still hasn’t been any support all that time”.
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She had felt pressure to pretend everything was fine in order not to harm her career chances. “It’s almost like I had this kind of metaphorical invisible gun to my head to sell this show because this show’s bubbly and fun and all of these things,” Barker said. “I don’t want to come out and poo-poo on that because then I might never work again.”
Netflix and Shondaland have been contacted for comment.
