Bridgerton actor Ruby Barker is calling out Netflix and Shondaland for failing to support her during two “psychotic breaks” she suffered amid the series’ massive popularity.
Barker, who played Marina during the first and second seasons of Bridgerton, said she got “no support” from Netflix after having “psychotic breaks” in 2019 and 2022.
“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 okay or if I would benefit from any sort of aftercare or support,” Barker said during an appearance on Oxford University’s “LOAF Podcast,” per Variety. “Nobody.”
The actress said her mental health began declining while filming the show. Barker noted the impact her character’s isolated nature had on her mental health.
“During filming, I was deteriorating,” she said. “It was a really tormenting place for me to be because my character was very alienated, very ostracized, on her own under these horrible circumstances.”
“When I went into hospital a week after shooting ‘Bridgerton’ Season 1, it was really covered up and kept on the down-low because the show was going to be coming out,” Barker added. “In the run-up to the show coming out, I was just coming out from hospital, my Instagram following was going up, I had all these engagements to do… My life was changing drastically overnight and yet there was still no support and there still hasn’t been any support all that time. So I was trying really, really hard to act like it was ok and that I could work and that it wasn’t a problem.”
Barker first opened up about her mental health struggles in May 2022, saying on social media that she was “really unwell for a really long time” and had been “struggling since ‘Bridgerton.’” At the time, Barker credited Netflix for “saving her” by casting her on the show.
“I am in hospital at the minute and I am going to be discharged soon and hopefully get to continue with my life,” Barker previously said on social media. “I was raged-filled, angry, all this intergenerational trauma bundled up inside me. I was carrying the weight of the world on my back and now I am at the point where I have a diagnosis.”
Now, Barker says she had no support behind the scenes and was forced to promote the show during a difficult period of her life.
“It’s almost like I had this metaphorical invisible gun to my head to sell this show because this show is bubbly and fun. I don’t want to come out and poo poo on that because then I’ll never work again,” Barker said on the podcast.
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