Dame Judi Dench says trigger warnings have gotten out of control, calling them “mollycoddling” in an interview with The Times published Friday.
The 91-year-old actress made the remarks in an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, “Is It Too Late to Make a Run for It?” Dench, who has spent decades on stage and screen, said warnings have expanded well past basics like age limits or notice of loud sound effects.
“I think they have gone too far,” Dench said. “It’s mollycoddling. If you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theater.”
She said warnings for strobe lighting, gunshots and age restrictions for children make sense, but little beyond that.
“By all means, keep the warnings about strobe lighting and gunshots, and obviously there should be age limits for children, but that’s about it. Otherwise, where will it end?” Dench said.
Dench argued excessive warnings strip stories of their power to surprise. She pointed to Shakespeare’s “Titus Andronicus” as an example of a production where the disclaimers could run longer than the play itself, and questioned whether audiences should be warned ahead of an Agatha Christie mystery that the butler did it.
“Besides, in the safety of a theater or cinema, I want to be triggered, excited, stimulated, provoked and disturbed, to be taken out of my comfort zone. Isn’t that what makes theater and films so thrilling?” Dench said.
She also mocked how far the logic of trigger warnings could be stretched, noting a friend who gets physically sick at the sight of bananas.
“And who knows what might trigger people? Balloons, clowns, buttons … I have a friend who doesn’t like bananas. She feels physically sick every time she sees one. Should supermarkets put up warning signs in the fruit and veg aisle? It drives me wild,” Dench said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Dench’s representative for comment.
This isn’t the first time Dench has pushed back on content advisories. In a 2024 interview, she acknowledged some rationale behind them but landed in the same place.
“I can see why they exist, and it is preparing people, I suppose. But if you’re that sensitive, don’t go to the theater because you could be very shocked,” Dench said.
Film critic and “Hollywood in Toto” podcast host Christian Toto told Fox News Digital it’s telling that Dench’s blunt take now counts as notable.
“Dench’s statement on trigger warnings is obvious, but it still needs to be said today. It’s especially helpful coming from an artist. Almost anything in art can be triggering, all depending on the audience… Art is meant to challenge us, to question our beliefs and offer new perspectives on older ideas… So deal with it, or don’t consume art. This kind of wisdom is rare in Hollywood. Kudos for Dench for lighting the way to sanity,” Toto said.
