Why didn't Rebecca Ferguson name ‘idiot' costar who shouted at her?

Rebecca Ferguson has explained why she chose not to publicly name the co-star she once described as an “absolute idiot” after a distressing on-set confrontation, saying the experience was more about her own growth than exposing someone else.

The Golden Globe nominee revisited the incident two years after first speaking about it in a February 2024 appearance on the Reign with Josh Smith podcast. 

In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Ferguson made it clear that her decision to keep the person’s identity private was intentional. 

“It wasn’t about the person. It was about me,” she said, reflecting on how unprepared she felt at the time to stand up for herself in a calm, direct way. 

She admitted the situation felt overwhelming, adding that she didn’t know how to ask for a private conversation back then, something she believes she could handle differently now.

Ferguson also addressed wider conversations about behaviour in the workplace, pushing back against criticism of changing industry standards. 

“A lot of people say that we’ve become too woke, but I think, no, it’s great. The pendulum needs to swing to the other side so that we can find a balance in between,” she said, suggesting that open discussions about power and respect are long overdue.

The original incident, which took place years earlier, involved a co-star who shouted at her during filming, leaving her so upset that she walked off set in tears. 

At the time, Ferguson recalled the actor yelling, “‘You call yourself an actor? This is what I have to work with?’” 

She later revealed that she demanded the individual leave the set and asked to act opposite a tennis ball instead, explaining that the person’s senior status made the situation feel particularly isolating. 

“Because this person was number one on the call sheet, there was no safety net for me,” she said in 2024. “No one had my back.”

Since she first shared the story, online speculation has swirled around the identity of the unnamed actor. 

Ferguson has firmly ruled out some of the most common guesses, confirming it was not Hugh Jackman or Tom Cruise. 

Dwayne Johnson also appeared to distance himself from the claims after publicly showing support for her.

Despite the curiosity surrounding the incident, Ferguson remains focused on why she spoke up in the first place, not to shame someone else, but to highlight an experience that many performers quietly endure, and to show how far she has come since that moment.