“It can be a tad distracting”: Gillian Anderson clarifies viral video where she is seen asking theatre fans to stop sitting in the front row

The Salt Path actor-turned-theater artist Gillian Anderson, who confessed during a conversation with The Australian in September 2026 that she is pansexual, has recently drawn attention on social media after a video of her asking theater fans not to sit in the front row, as she gets distracted, went viral.

According to People, Gillian Anderson, who is one of the lead artists in London's West End production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? alongside Big Fish actor Billy Crudup, took the opportunity to clarify the matter and clear up confusion. The production premiered on September 30, 2026, at the Soho Place Theatre and will be running until December 19, 2026.

According to People, the mother of three (a daughter and two sons), Gillian Anderson, 58, who was previously married to art director Clyde Klotz and film producer Julian Ozanne, said to theater fans in the viral video that is doing the rounds on social media:

"You guys cannot sit in the front row. I do not care. You cannot sit in the front row. It’s so distracting."

When the fans, whose faces are not visible in the viral video, apologized to her, Anderson said:

"You can't come 20 times and sit in the front row, it'll drive me mad."

According to People, after facing backlash online regarding her comments, The Spy Who Dumped Me actress, Gillian Anderson, took to her X (formerly Twitter) handle to clarify the whole matter, writing:

"The video doing the rounds is me talking with women I go back over 20 years with. So please don’t say anything negative to or about them."

Explaining why she asked those women not to sit in the front row, Anderson said:

"We’re thrilled to be doing this show but for people in the front row, please be aware that in such an intimate venue we can all see you and sometimes, it can be a tad distracting!"

She added:

"That’s all. All good. On with the show and love to everyone and thank you to all of those coming."

Gillian Anderson opened up about her secret relationship with another woman

The Crooked House actress, Gillian Anderson, who has been married twice, shed light on her secret relationship with another woman in an interview with the Sunday Times in August 2026.

While she confirmed to The Australian in September 2026 that she identifies as pansexual, in August 2026, Anderson opened up to the Sunday Times about being in a relationship with another girl who was older than her. She said:

"It felt secretive, illicit and wrong and we had to hide. Later on, I had a boyfriend who found out and broke up with me."

Anderson said:

"But I definitely felt I didn’t have the language for it. Even later on when I had other relationships [with women] I’m not sure I ever thought of them as being potentially forever."

Gillian further added:

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"The person I consider my life partner happens to be male, but I think I would feel the same way if it were a woman. I’d feel, ‘This is my life partner.' When I was younger, there were parts of my brain that thought [women] were temporary."

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