#Ruth Wilson Speaks Out on Quitting The Affair: ‘I Didn’t Feel Safe’

It’s been two years since The Affair lost its award-winning lead in Ruth Wilson. 

The actress exited the Showtime series to the surprise of fans who witnessed her character being killed off on-screen. 

It quickly emerged that there was a bigger story behind Wilson’s departure, and she opened up about it in a new interview with Stylist Magazine.

At the time of her exit, there were reports of a toxic work environment and too many sex scenes.

“The reason I haven’t gone into The Affair is that I haven’t worked out how to discuss it,” Wilson said in the most recent issue in of the magazine. 

“There’s a lot of noise and anger surrounding it, and really the power rests with me to choose how I discuss my life and my experiences.

“What’s important to say is that I did speak up. I did have a voice. I did stand up for myself,” Wilson continued.

“There was a situation on The Affair where things didn’t feel right, and I dealt with them, and I managed to protect myself.”

“It was before #MeToo and before Harvey Weinstein – and yet my instincts were very clear and strong about what I felt was wrong, about what was going on, and what I didn’t feel safe about.”

The report prompted The Affair creator, Sarah Treem to speak out about her thoughts on the matter. 

Wilson confirmed shortly after her 2018 exit that it “isn’t about pay parity, and it wasn’t about other jobs,” and maintained, “I’m not really allowed to talk about it.”

But she did stress that “there is a much bigger story” about why she left the series behind ahead of its final season. 

The Hollywood Reporter spoke with someone close to the situation in 2019 and detailed the alleged issues. 

“There was a culture problem at the show from the very beginning and a tone-deafness from Sarah Treem about recognising the position she was putting actors in.”

“Over and over again, I witnessed Sarah Treem try to cajole actors to get naked even if they were uncomfortable or not contractually obligated to.”

“I have devoted my entire professional life to writing about and speaking to women’s issues, women’s causes, women’s empowerment and creating strong, complex roles for women in theater and in Hollywood, on- and offscreen,” she said in a statement to the outlet. 

“It’s what I think about, what I care about, it’s what drives my life and work. The reason I even created The Affair was to illuminate how the female experience of moving through the world is so different from the male one, it’s like speaking a second language. ”

“The idea that I would ever cultivate an unsafe environment or harass a woman on one of my shows is utterly ridiculous and lacks a grounding in reality.”

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.