Lily James appears to address Dominic West photos for the first time: ‘It was a lot’

Paparazzi photos of James and West embracing in Rome emerged in 2020

Lily James appears to have addressed the controversy surrounding the photos of herself and Dominic West for the first time.

In October 2020, paparazzi photos emerged of West (who is married to Catherine FitzGerald) and James appearing to kiss while in Rome where they were filming the BBC drama The Pursuit of Love.

The photos garnered huge media attention and public scrutiny. West, 52, and FitzGerald have been married since 2010 and share three children together, in addition to West’s children from a previous relationship.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, James, 32,  appeared to address the photos for the first time.

In the article, the journalist notes how James shares some similarities with Pamela Anderson, whom she stars as in Hulu’s new series Pam & Tommy.

“She’d even had a brush with the gossip rags,” the journalist observes. “While she’d carefully kept her five-year relationship with Doctor Who’s Matt Smith low-key until the couple split in 2020, a paparazzi photograph published soon after of her appearing to kiss her married Pursuit co-star Dominic West brought a whole new kind of scrutiny.

“Women in the public eye at some point experience some sort of difficult situation in their relationship between privacy and your life being in the tabloids,” James said in response.

“It was a lot. It’s a story as old as time.”

Pam & Tommy chronicles Anderson’s marriage to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee (played by Sebastian Stan) and the leaking of their sex tape in the Nineties.

Lily James in ‘The Pursuit of Love’ (Theodora Films Limited & Moonage Pictures Limited)

After the photos of West and James were released, The Affair star and his wife appeared to put on a united front.

Addressing paparazzi outside of their London home, the couple shared a kiss and placed a handwritten cardboard sign outside their property that read: “Our marriage is strong and we’re very much still together. Thank you. Catherine and Dominic.”

West is due to star as Prince Charles in the forthcoming season of The Crown, taking over the role from Josh O’Connor. Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki will play Princess Diana following Emma Corrin’s critically acclaimed stint as the Princess of Wales.