Liz Hurley thrown out of Equity after US protests

The actor Liz Hurley has been ejected from Equity for failing to pay her subscription, the British actors' union said yesterday.

The actor Liz Hurley has been ejected from Equity for failing to pay her subscription, the British actors' union said yesterday.

Equity revealed Ms Hurley's membership had been terminated, after she was heckled by members of the US Screen Actors Guild for breaking a strike by filming an Estée Lauder cosmetics commercial.

Ms Hurley, who claimed she did not know about the strike, was jeered and called a scab when she arrived for the premiere of her film Bedazzled in Los Angeles earlier this week.

Equity said she would have been aware of the action in America if she had kept upher subscription. A union spokesman said: "She ceased being a member in November 1988 because we hadn't had any subs since 1995." He added: "Although we wouldn't agree with all the things that have been said about her, we do understand the frustrations of the American performers seeing someone like Liz Hurley beating the dispute."

A spokeswoman for Ms Hurley pointed out that much of her work was in the US. "Elizabeth hasn't made a British film since 1994, so perhaps that is the reason she hasn't paid. It is no longer a closed shop or a requirement that actors have to be members of Equity."

Ms Hurley's ex-boyfriend, Hugh Grant, had also fallen behind on his payments. He paid his dues as soon as news broke of his ejection from the union.