Sienna Miller says poppy criticism 'a little extreme'

Updated

Sienna Miller has said criticism she received for not wearing a poppy was "a little extreme".

The actress was condemned for not wearing the flower on The Graham Norton Show, and said she is worried about another upcoming pre-recorded programme in which she will be seen "probably" not wearing one again.

Miller, 33, said she "meant no disrespect" but said "you can't please everyone".

Speaking about her appearance on the BBC1 chat show, Miller told Good Morning Britain: "I had a poppy on funnily enough and I was wearing a dress that was like crepe paper basically and as I was going on I looked down, it was tearing at the dress and they'd said my name and so I whipped it off."

She added: "It's unfortunate that it's been made such a huge kind of ... it's really snowballed apparently and of course I don't think there is anyone in this country that isn't grateful and respectful and never would want to cause offence and wear a poppy all the time but people kind of focus on things enough to pick at the negative. It seems a little extreme.

"Also, there's another show I'm worried about coming up because we pre-recorded it, where we're probably not wearing poppies but some of these things are filmed weeks before they air. But you can't please everyone and I meant no disrespect. Of course I didn't."

There is an annual controversy surrounding the wearing of Remembrance Day poppies with high profile names speaking out about why they choose not to wear one.

ITV News anchor Charlene White wrote a blog post about her decision not to wear a poppy on screen.

In the 2014 post, which she posted a link to on Twitter again this year, White wrote: "I support and am patron of a number of charities, and due to impartiality rules, I am not allowed to visually support them all whilst presenting news programmes.

"That includes things like a red ribbon for World Aids Day, or a purple band for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.

"Both these and many more charities do great things in the UK, but I'm not allowed to give them exposure on screen.

"So I feel uncomfortable supporting just one charity above all others, namely The Royal British Legion, but I fully support my colleagues who do choose to wear the poppy on screen."

She said she wears one on Armistice Day, and added that her father served in the RAF, and her uncle served in the Army.

Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow has said in the past that there is an "unpleasant breed of poppy fascism out there''.

Why Celebrities Are Refusing To Wear A Red Poppy
Why Celebrities Are Refusing To Wear A Red Poppy

Advertisement