Billie Piper places blame on agents for the “sanctioned pimping” of the music industry

The successful actress Billie Piper got her start as a pop singer when she was a mere 15 years old, which is why her reflections on that period of her life are disconcerting. Speaking with the Sunday Times, she lamented at the blatant abuses of power and misogyny that never went unnoticed, but unchecked, by those who represent the artists: “If I’m honest what I find really sickening is all the agents subjecting their clients to it, knowing full well what’s going on. Like sanctioned pimping.” Her product was “oversexualised” by the very people who were meant to not only guide her professionally, but also personally.

Angelina Jolie, in her own branch of the entertainment industry, has brought attention to the same thing, describing how some of Harvey Weinstein’s executives and assistants played a role in the harassment by essentially delivering the talent to his hotel rooms. For Piper, the failings of those who should be there to protect her meant she had to develop her own sort of protective shield, noting “I think that’s why, for so long, my desire to hide my body in baggy clothes took hold.” Piper has suffered from anorexia and even attempted suicide at 16.

While in great support of the feminist causes of late, there are some elements that do not bode well with her, such as the re-claiming of nudity, which she still considers objectification: “Like, this whole thing of “I’m liberated enough to bare my arse” doesn’t remotely cut it with me.” She added, “the emotions are the same, it’s just the semantics that have changed.”

Piper is returning to acting in playwright Sir David Hare’s new BBC Two series Collateral with Carey Mulligan.