Calista Flockhart has shared that she ‘felt like she was on trial’ after being dogged by rumours that she had anorexia while starring in the 90s series Ally McBeal.
Despite winning a Golden Globe for her performance, the actress, 59, admitted she faced a wave of criticism and was accused of being ‘anti-feminist’ for wearing short skirts while playing the high-flying Boston lawyer.
In a interview with The Sunday Times’ Style Magazine, Calista admitted it was ‘bizarre’ being repeatedly questioned about her weight while starring in the show.
She said: ‘We started out creating something really special. And then we had to share it, and that’s when everything went to s**t…
‘I felt like I was on trial for something. It was bizarre.’
Calista Flockhart has shared that she ‘felt like she was on trial’ after being dogged by rumours that she had anorexia while starring in the 90s series Ally McBeal
Despite winning a Golden Globe for her performance, the actress admitted she was accused of being ‘anti-feminist’ for playing the high-flying Boston lawyer
In the same interview, Calista also offered rare insight into her marriage to Harrison Ford, admitting that when they first met she thought he was ‘lascivious old man.’
She admitted she was initially underwhelmed ‘because I had never seen Star Wars, which I know sounds really crazy. But I grew up in a small town without movie theatre.
‘I was aware of who Harrison Ford was! But I didn’t think, ”Oh this is Indiana Jones.” It was more along the lines of, ”This is some lascivious old man and what is he doing at our table?” I was being a smarta*s.’
The couple would marry in 2010, and she readily admits to being the yin to Ford’s yang.
Indeed, while Flockhart enjoys hiking, her husband is renowned for his love of flying planes – a passion that has resulted in more than one crash.
But while those near-misses were an obvious concern, the actress says she has never urged him to give up his favourite pastime.
The Golden Globe winner also recently addressed the persistent anorexia rumours that dogged her during the early years of her career.
She told the New York Times: ‘I was an easy target, I guess. It was painful, it was complicated. I loved working on Ally McBeal, and it just made it sour.
In a interview with The Sunday Times’ Style Magazine, Calista admitted it was ‘bizarre’ being repeatedly questioned about her weight while starring in the show (pictured in 2002)
In the same interview, Calista also offered rare insight into her marriage to Harrison Ford , admitting that when they first met she thought he was ‘lascivious old man’
‘I was very sleep-deprived and I was depressed about it. I did think that it was going to ruin my career,’ Flockhart admitted.
‘I didn’t think anybody would ever hire me again, because they would just assume I had anorexia, and that would be the end of that.’
She added: ‘I had days where I was really hurt and embarrassed and infuriated. I was lucky that I had to work.
I just put my head down. I always felt like, ‘Calista, you’re a good person, you’re not mean to anybody,’ and I’m confident in that.’
The actress also explained to the publication that she felt the past situation would not occur in the present time.
‘They call it body-shaming now. I haven’t thought about it in a long time, but it’s really not OK to accuse someone of having a disease that a lot of people struggle with.’
Flockhart added, ‘I look back at pictures, and I’m the same then as I am now, and nobody says a word now.’
