Actress Keira Knightley has spoken candidly about the sexism she has faced in her career, including the media's fixation on her earning more than her husband, musician James Righton. In an interview with Porter magazine, the star of Love Actually and The Imitation Game addressed the pressure on women to feel guilty about professional success.
Knightley, who married Righton in 2013 and has two daughters, said: “That’s what our national newspapers are telling girls – that you have to feel guilty about doing well if it’s making a man feel uncomfortable, which it doesn’t with my husband and it didn’t with my dad. But yet our society is telling us that’s what it should be.”
She also highlighted double standards in parenting, noting that her husband is never asked about childcare arrangements, whereas she is frequently questioned. “It’s not expected that men should look after their children, it’s seen as a bonus,” she added.
Reflecting on her early career, Knightley remarked on the stark differences in how men and women were treated in the media. She also discussed her initial decision to ban her daughter from watching fairy tales like The Little Mermaid and Cinderella due to their lack of feminist messages, though she later relented. She expressed pride when her daughter criticised the kissing scene in Sleeping Beauty, saying: “If I don’t do anything else, I’ve managed to drum that in!”
Knightley’s latest film, Misbehaviour, explores the 1970 Miss World competition and the feminist protests surrounding it. She emphasised the importance of storytelling in fostering understanding, stating: “People need to feel heard; they need their experiences to be seen and heard.”
