“There was just this weird resistance. And bullying. Bullying, demeaning, gaslighting. I was yelled at by one producer because I was questioning something about my own work,” she explained.

Referring to the project, which she shared was similar to HBO’s smash-hit series Girls and eventually ended up in “development hell” and put on hold, she added: “‘We didn’t do that kind of thing here until the success of things like I May Destroy You or Fleabag.”

Ashton, who is currently pregnant with her first child by fiance Tom Hiddleston, also opened up about the struggle of planning a pregnancy as an actor given the “mixed messaging” that women in the entertainment industry so often receive.

Tackling the “knotty” subject, she shared: “You’re told, ‘Don’t get pregnant’ but also ‘Don’t leave it too long’ because then you’re going to be an old maid. I’ve been prehistoric in this industry since I was 25. The mixed messaging is rough and has to be addressed.”

“There was just this weird resistance”: Zawe Ashton shares the impact of being bullied and gaslit throughout her career