Simone Ashley chose not to attend the SAG Awards this evening despite being nominated.
Ashley is nominated with the Bridgerton cast for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for her role as Kate Bridgerton in the show’s third season.
Her absence is not surprising, as she was photographed in London yesterday evening at a 16Arlington dinner. Ashley would’ve had to fly over 11 hours to make it to the Los Angeles ceremony. Ashley was not the lead of Bridgerton’s third season, making it understandable that she remained in the U.K. during London Fashion Week.
In October, Ashley spoke to Glamour UK about just how much Bridgerton fame changed her life. “Within two weeks [of being cast], I was on set and in horse-riding lessons, so I didn’t really have a second to process it,” Ashley shared, saying she and her co-stars leaned on each other. “That show was life-changing for all of us. Who else would you turn to that would get it exactly? We could relate to one another, no judgement, just a safe space.”
She added she will be in the show’s fourth season: “I know that I am returning, but that’s all I can say. I absolutely adore the show, and the more I can be a part of it, the better. They’ve been really kind to work around my schedule.”
Ashley also discussed the responsibility she feels representing South Asian women onscreen, especially when she played the romantic lead in Bridgerton’s second season.
“I think it’s a journey,” she said. “I’m so proud to be representing. I mean, look at [Olympic gymnast] Simone Biles. I watched her documentary recently, and she is such a representative to so many people—to Black women, to dark-skinned women, but also to the whole world, she’s saying: ‘You can do it.’ I watch her and I’m like, ‘Whoa, I’m so inspired by you.’ And I think that’s a really powerful, positive thing, and I want to do that in my work. I want to help change the world. I want young girls to look to me. The majority of women and girls who stop me are dark-skinned women, Black women, brown women, and they say: ‘You make me feel like it’s possible.’ And that is an amazing thing. I want to continue to do that for the rest of my career.”
As her career continues, Ashley is aware that “unfortunately, people can weaponize what you’re representing because you’re a bit of a ‘token’. Look, we’re all used to it. I’m a smart girl, and I can sense it. So, yes, in those moments, it can get tiresome. But I’m working with people who celebrate rather than take advantage, and I’m working on projects that I feel have an urgency to be told.”
