Gretchen Carlson opens up about Bombshell: 'It's frustrating I can't partake'
Former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson — who just headlined another special for Lifetime about the college admissions scandal — is opening up about the upcoming Bombshell, the Jay Roach film that chronicles the Fox News women and their allegations against the late Roger Ailes. In the movie, Nicole Kidman plays Gretchen while Charlize Theron plays Megyn Kelly.
We asked Carlson what she thought about the movie’s tense trailer featuring Kidman, Theron, and Margot Robbie — who plays a fictional associate producer — in an elevator. The movie comes after the release of Showtime’s The Loudest Voice, which featured Russell Crowe as Ailes and Naomi Watts as Gretchen.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you feel about the Bombshell trailer? Did you get chills just like the rest of us?
GRETCHEN CARLSON: Yeah. It’s a strange and frustrating reality that I can’t partake in any of these projects based on my settlement, which is why I’m working so hard on Capitol Hill so that nobody else has to be handcuffed anymore. And I’m trying to pass the bill to take the muzzle off of women who face harassment in the workplace so that they’re not forced into signing NDAs and have to go to the secret chamber of arbitration where nobody ever knows what the hell happened to them. It’s frustrating cause I can say, “Hey wait a minute, you know, that was my life!” But the trailer got a tremendous amount of attention and for me, that’s what this is all about. In the end, I can’t participate, but it’s all about continuing the dialogue. And if projects like this and the Showtime miniseries keeps people in our society talking about this issue, then that is amazing. And most importantly, if it gives courage to men and women who are facing these kinds of situations to come forward, then that’s the extra bonus. I really feel like nobody would have done these movies three years ago when I jumped off the cliff all by myself in July of 2016. The idea now that Naomi and Nicole have been portraying my character is surreal.
Were you worried the projects were not going to get it right?
No. Listen, I’m working so hard to fix this issue and to continue my career in TV. I don’t think that any real-life story is ever 100 percent accurate. So for me, I have to look at the big picture and the big picture for me is to continue the dialogue and it’s going to help other people.
Bombshell hits theaters in December. Watch the trailer above.
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