She ruffled feathers last week by weighing in on the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
And Joanna Lumley has spoken out once again on the pressures faced by women working in the film industry.
The actress, 71, famously stripped for her role in 1971 comedy Games That Lovers Play, in which she starred alongside Penny Brahms as a brothel owner.
Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, the Absolutely Fabulous star said: ‘In those days if you were an actress you had to take you top off or they would have said you’re not a real actress.
‘I got my top off. We had to. Look, Diana Rigg has done it. Julie Christie has done it.’
Outspoken: Joanna Lumley has spoken out once again on the pressures faced by women working in the film industry, admitting she feared not being taken seriously as an actress
Pressure: The actress, 71, famously stripped for her role in 1971 comedy Games That Lovers Play, in which she starred alongside Penny Brahms as a brothel owner
Lumley, who is hosting tonight’s BAFTAs awards ceremony in London, added: ‘That was a tough one as I had not gone to drama school. I was afraid they’d say, “If you don’t take your top off you’re not serious about your profession”.
‘It is quite interesting in these Weinstein days.’
The veteran actress raised eyebrows recently by suggesting that women need to take greater responsibility for their actions in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal.
Lumley insisted she was in ‘full of sympathy for the horrors that have gone on’ but said women should ‘speak up’ if they are put in an uncomfortable situation.
Speaking to Hello! magazine, she said: ‘If you don’t know whether to take your pants off, don’t suddenly scream later “I really didn’t want to do it”. And don’t go to his hotel room if you’re not sure, because it won’t end well.’
Joanna Lumley, 71, recently said she is ‘full of sympathy for the horrors that have gone on’ but insisted women need to ‘speak up’ if they are put in an uncomfortable situation
The actress commented on the recent wave of sexual harassment claims in Hollywood including those against Harvey Weinstein, pictured, saying ‘it was – and is – everywhere’
Lumley will wear black to the BAFTAs but is not doing it in support of the #MeToo movement. Like at the Golden Globes (pictured) actors will wear black as a stance against harassment
Lumley, who is taking over from Stephen Fry as the presenter of the BAFTAs tonight, also admitted she was ‘lucky because she is not predator fodder’.
Speaking on the scandal, she said sexual harassment ‘was – and is – everywhere’.
‘I’m full of sympathy for the horrors that have gone on, but at the same time, women need to know what they are or aren’t going to do,’ she commented.
‘It’s your ship, you’re the captain, so if somebody does something you don’t like, speak up. Don’t feel you ought to do it because you need a job.’
Lumley will be wearing black to the awards show in London on Sunday but will not be doing it as a show of support with the #MeToo movement, unlike many other stars who will be follow those who took a stand on the Golden Globes red carpet.
Lumley, pictured in London in January 2016, said she was fortunate not to be ‘predator fodder’
She added: ‘I had to choose how I would look before any of this blew up.’
Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes became the latest person to break his silence about disgraced movie mogul Weinstein, with whom he worked on his ITV drama, Doctor Thorne.
Speaking for the first time since the Hollywood producer was accused of sexual harassment last year, Lord Fellowes admits he deliberately overlooked rumours about Weinstein’s behaviour because he wanted his show to be successful.
‘Did I know what was going on? I knew the rumours and I think the reality exceeded the rumours — if what everyone’s saying happened, happened,’ says Fellowes.
Lumley is best known for her role opposite Jennifer Saunders in Absolutely Fabulous
‘But in the end Harvey was a very talented producer and he marketed the show in America very well.
‘And because I’m a man, and not a particularly good-looking one, that was all there was to it. He was buying a product, and he sold it well, and I’m grateful for that.’
Speaking at the Services To Film inaugural gala dinner, in aid of Walking With The Wounded, Fellowes adds: ‘I don’t think I can say I regret working with him.
‘I think subsequent events have cast a shadow, as they must, but all through our lives we go through situations without understanding the significance of them.’