SPEAKING OUT

Calista Flockhart on ‘Ally McBeal’ Anorexia Rumors: ‘I Thought It Would Ruin My Career’

“I didn’t think anybody would ever hire me again,” the actress shared. “They would just assume I had anorexia, and that would be the end of that.”

Calista Flockhart was left “sleep-deprived” and “depressed” by endless rumors that she had anorexia while starring in Ally McBeal more than two decades ago. In an interview with The New York Times, the actress described the extreme stress she felt on set as speculation swirled about her mental health and her eating habits. “I loved working on Ally McBeal, and it just made it sour,” she said. “I did think that it was going to ruin my career. I didn’t think anybody would ever hire me again, because they would just assume I had anorexia, and that would be the end of that.” Flockhart added that she didn’t think such relentless body-shaming would fly today. “I haven’t thought about it in a long time, but it’s really not OK to accuse someone of having a disease that a lot of people struggle with,” she said.