Priyanka Chopra Quit a Project After an Inappropriate Request From a Director
And she doesn't regret walking away from the uncomfortable situation.
Pietro S. D'Aprano/Getty Images for Bulgari
After opening up about finally getting equal pay on her new Prime Video project, Citadel, Priyanka Chopra is offering up more insight into the early part of her career in a new interview with The Zoe Report. She detailed an incident where she was asked to undress for a director and while it started out as something in line with her role as an undercover agent, it crossed the line and she walked away from the project.
"I'm undercover, I'm seducing the guy — obviously that’s what girls do when they’re undercover. But I'm seducing the guy and you have to take off one piece of clothing [at a time]. I wanted to layer up. The filmmaker was like, 'No, I need to see her underwear. Otherwise, why is anybody coming to watch this movie,'" Chopra explained. But it went beyond just objectification. Chopra added that the director wasn't even talking to her when it happened, he was addressing the stylist and ignoring her completely. "He didn't say it to me. He said it to the stylist in front of me. It was such a dehumanizing moment. It was a feeling of, I’m nothing else outside of how I can be used, my art is not important, what I contribute is not important."
She left the production and even paid the team back for what they'd spent to have her on for just two days, she finished.
Raajessh Kashyap/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Related: Priyanka Chopra Wore the Coolest Labyrinth-Print Coordinating Set
Chopra also explained that being in the entertainment industry for so long has allowed her to see all the good and the bad aspects that come with filmmaking. That experience has helped her to set boundaries and advocate for herself and her cast mates.
"I was 17 years old when I started doing this. I’ve been picked apart — my actions, and decisions have been scrutinized," she said. "I’ve learned how to protect myself by building barriers and walls, [but] now that I’ve done this for long enough, the lines are blurring for me. The public person and the real person are kind of becoming the same."
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