Patricia Clarkson, known for her decades of work in independent and studio films, is promoting Lilly, a biographical drama based on the life of equal pay advocate Lilly Ledbetter. While doing so, the Oscar-nominated actress has opened up about past encounters in Hollywood that involved inappropriate behavior, power imbalances, and professional intimidation. Her remarks, shared during recent interviews, shed light on the longstanding dynamics that women in the film industry have worked to expose and change.
During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Clarkson recounted a meeting early in her career with what she described as a “very big, famous person.” She did not name the individual, but described the interaction in detail. According to Clarkson, she arrived for a professional meeting and was greeted by the man wearing only a towel. “He goes, ‘Oh, I was just working out, I’m going to put some clothes on,’” Clarkson said. Her immediate reply: “Yes, please do!”
She recalled the moment with a measure of humor, but framed it as part of a pattern that many actresses experienced for decades. In another example, Clarkson described a casting offer that involved a nude scene. Having just finished her training, she turned it down, saying she wasn’t comfortable. The producer’s response, she said, was framed as reassurance but came across as something else entirely. “‘Well, when you’re doing the nudity, I’ll hold your hand,’” the producer told her. Clarkson replied, “‘Is that all you’re going to hold?’” Her response, delivered with her characteristic wit, was met with applause during the interview.
Clarkson added that such interactions were not outliers but part of a broader climate. “We tolerated this,” she said. “We tolerated so much. But then we started to fight back as women.”
This conversation unfolded as she discussed her role in Lilly, which tells the story of Lilly Ledbetter, a factory floor manager who discovered she was earning significantly less than her male colleagues. Ledbetter pursued justice through the legal system, ultimately reaching the Supreme Court. Her case prompted the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2009. Ledbetter passed away in October 2024.
“She’s just this extraordinary woman,” Clarkson said during the interview. “She started to fight.”
Clarkson’s interest in real-life stories of women confronting systemic obstacles aligns with another role she took in recent years: playing Rebecca Corbett, the New York Times editor who oversaw the Weinstein investigation in She Said. That film, released in 2022, chronicled the newsroom efforts to report on sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood producer now serving time in prison for multiple convictions.
The actress said her decision to accept the role was informed by her own experience with Weinstein during the 2003 awards season for The Station Agent, a film in which she played the lead. Clarkson recalled that Weinstein, whose company Miramax distributed the film, attempted to position her in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Academy Awards, a decision she opposed.
“I hate when actors put themselves in false categories,” she told Business Insider in a recent interview. “When you are supporting, you should be truly a supporting player, and when you’re the lead, you have to step up and go into a harder category.” Clarkson added, “I was the lead in The Station Agent, so I said, ‘No, Harvey, I’m not going into supporting.’”
That refusal led to what she described as a tense exchange. “So I went up against Harvey, and he told me I’d never work again,” she said. “It got very ugly.”
Clarkson later received a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role in Pieces of April, a separate film released the same year. In that project, she said the supporting classification made sense, as Katie Holmes played the central character. “I’m definitely supporting in that,” she said. “Katie Holmes is clearly the lead of that film.”
While Clarkson emphasized that her encounter with Weinstein did not involve physical misconduct, she acknowledged the difficulty of the experience and the impact of his influence during that era. “This was patter to me, what I went through with Harvey,” she said. “It was still difficult and terrible what he did to me, but compared to so many women who went through so much more, it was odd to talk about it.”
Weinstein’s legal record has continued to evolve since the original wave of allegations against him surfaced in 2017. Convicted in New York in 2020 on charges of rape and sexual assault, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison. In 2022, he was found guilty of additional charges in California and received another 16-year sentence. In April 2025, his original New York conviction was overturned by a state appeals court on procedural grounds, triggering a retrial that began later that month. He remains incarcerated at Rikers Island.
Clarkson’s willingness to discuss her history with Weinstein—despite the relative distance between her experience and those shared by others—adds context to her decision to portray figures like Corbett and Ledbetter. Both characters represent individuals who confronted entrenched power structures, whether in media or labor rights.
As an actor with a lengthy career in both television and film, Clarkson has portrayed a range of characters but often gravitates toward roles that depict women with agency. Her credits include acclaimed performances in The Green Mile, Pieces of April, The Station Agent, and Sharp Objects, among others. Her stage background and training at the Yale School of Drama have also influenced her approach to selecting projects.
She has spoken over the years about the limitations women face in the industry, including ageism, typecasting, and lack of access to decision-making positions. While accepting honors at industry events, Clarkson has used her platform to advocate for greater inclusion and transparency, calling attention to the disparities that persist both in front of and behind the camera.
The release of Lilly has renewed conversations about the intersection of gender, labor, and fairness. The film focuses on Ledbetter’s discovery that she had been paid 40 percent less than her male colleagues while working at a Goodyear plant. After taking her case to court, Ledbetter lost on procedural grounds, which prompted efforts to change federal law. The legislation that bears her name extended the time period for filing complaints related to pay discrimination, creating new legal pathways for affected workers.
During interviews, Clarkson has noted the parallels between Ledbetter’s fight and the experiences of women in film, where pay disparities between male and female leads have often been exposed through hacked emails, leaks, or contract disclosures. While some studios have begun reassessing compensation structures, Clarkson has said that progress has been uneven.
In her interview with Kelly Clarkson, the actress connected her personal experiences with the broader struggles women face in different industries. “We were constantly told what to accept, how to act, how to stay quiet,” she said. “She didn’t stay quiet.”
Her remarks were met with a strong response from the studio audience and have since circulated widely on social media. Viewers praised her candor and her ability to speak plainly about uncomfortable topics without sensationalizing them.
The promotional campaign for Lilly has involved screenings, press appearances, and interviews designed to highlight both the film’s subject matter and its relevance to current workplace conversations. Clarkson has framed her involvement as more than just another role, describing it as an opportunity to educate and engage audiences around real issues that continue to affect millions of workers.