Anne-Marie Duff walks out of interview after saying journalist made her 'feel like s**t'

'Are you trying to make this interview go badly? So you can have a story?'

(Rex Features)

Anne-Marie Duff says she was made to “feel like shit” during a probing interview and accused a journalist of trying to make their meeting go badly in order to make it seem more interesting.

Duff was promoting her new film Suffragette and was speaking to The Observer’s Megan Conner, but the resulting piece mainly focuses on how uncomfortable the encounter is, with Conner later being accused on Twitter of “antagonising” the actress.

“This isn’t me and you having a cup of tea. This is an interview. This isn’t us connecting,” Duff says at one point when Conner, who grew up in the same part of West London as Duff, asks her about her mother.

Conner notes that Duff is “irked” throughout and meets several questions with caution and suspicion.

But when she tells her subject she is concerned the interview isn’t going well, Duff says “Oh please, don’t make it seem like we’re having a terrible interview, darling.

“Are you trying to make this interview go badly? So you can have a story?”

The interview eventually moves into less hostile territory. Duff discusses her role in Suffragette, her approach to taking on a new role or production, and even opens up about her husband, James McAvoy, someone she is often reluctant to talk about. The two are known for their privacy.

But the interview ends on a sour note after Conner tries to explain their falling out earlier.

As Duff apologises for seeming distant and reclusive, checking to see if the two are on good terms, Conner says she had to let Duff know how uncomfortable she was made to feel.

She writes that her remark left Duff “thunderous” again.

“Well, thanks very much. You’ve made me feel like shit,” she said, before leaving.

Conner was accused of “antagonising” the actress once the piece was published over the weekend, while some felt Duff could have been more receptive and criticised her for her lack of professionalism.

A representative for Duff was not available for comment.