Rachael Stirling has pushed back against media coverage of her admission that she ingests small amounts of her late mother Diana Rigg's ashes before performances. She says headlines depicting her as an "ash-guzzling savage" and "matricidal cannibal" distort what she actually does.
In her memoir "All About My Mother," Stirling writes that she nibbles "a grain or two" of her mother's ashes on opening nights. She told The Guardian that press coverage of this confession ranged from recognition to disgust, but that the most extreme portrayals misrepresent her relationship with the practice.
"I didn't expect to be portrayed as a matricidal cannibal by the press," Stirling writes. She notes that outlets ran headlines such as "Rachael Stirling eats mother Diana Rigg's ashes before going on stage" and described the practice as a "strange habit only she really understands" and "bizarre tribute."
Stirling describes her mother as an iconic actor with a 60-year career. Rigg was known for roles including the Queen of Thorns in "Game of Thrones," Emma Peel in the 1960s television series "The Avengers," and Medea on Broadway. She won an Emmy and a Tony Award and appeared in "The Great Muppet Caper." Rigg was the only woman to marry James Bond on screen.
Stirling characterizes her mother as "a complete original and very witty." She frames the practice of consuming small amounts of ash as something grief prompted, writing that "grief makes animals of us all." The phrasing suggests Stirling sees the behavior as a natural human response to loss rather than something unusual or morbid, though she acknowledges the press reaction has been largely negative.
The memoir, which examines the relationship between Stirling and her mother, prompted the recent media attention after Stirling's confession became public.