Dame Judi Dench Faces Backlash For Labeling 'The Crown''Cruelly Unjust' To Royal Family

Netflix's "The Crown" is coming back to our screens on November 9. However, the return of the prestigious show has been plagued with controversy, as many believe the series misrepresents the Royal family.

Legendary actress Dame Judi Dench is among those who hold such an opinion, and in an open letter, she expressed her displeasure about "The Crown" while urging them to remind their audience that it is strictly fictional.

The "Victoria & Abdul" star penned an open letter to The Times of London voicing her thoughts about how the drama might be taking things too far with their fictionalization of the Royals.

"Indeed, the closer the drama comes to our present times, the more freely it seems willing to blur the lines between historical accuracy and crude sensationalism," Dench wrote in her scathing letter.

While the legendary British actress praised "The Crown" for its "brilliant" fictionalized events, she noted that she feared "that a significant number of viewers, particularly overseas, may take its version of history as being wholly true. She then went on to cite instances of believed misinformation on the part of the show, writing:

"Given some of the wounding suggestions apparently contained in the new series — that King Charles plotted for his mother to abdicate, for example, or once suggested his mother's parenting was so deficient that she might have deserved a jail sentence — this is both cruelly unjust to the individuals and damaging to the institution they represent."

The "Skyfall" actress maintained that she is a strong supporter of artistic freedom, but she doesn't think the Netflix hit show should go "unchallenged." She lamented, "Despite this week stating publicly that The Crown has always been a 'fictionalized drama' the program makers have resisted all calls for them to carry a disclaimer at the start of each episode."

Concluding her open letter, Dench urged, "The time has come for Netflix to reconsider — for the sake of a family and a nation so recently bereaved, as a mark of respect to a sovereign who served her people so dutifully for 70 years, and to preserve their own reputation in the eyes of their British subscribers."

It is worth noting that Dench is a close friend of the Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles and an ally of the Royals. Her criticism of "The Crown" joins other senior UK politicians who have clamored for the show to issue a disclaimer. Dench cited former Prime Minister Sir John Major's complaint, who described the series as "a barrel-load of nonsense."

Dench's open letter wasn't well-received by fans of the show, who emphasized that "The Crown" has "always been presented as a drama based on historical events." Many took to social media to air their grievances against the "Belfast" actress.

One fan wrote, "No one had a problem with The Crown until it reminded the public how they treated Diana. If Judi Dench is so concerned about the monarchy's reputation right now, she should probably go talk to Prince Andrew."

Another disappointed fan wrote, "People in U.K. don't know that #TheCrown is a fictionalized drama?! People in the U.S. do. I guess we're smarter. 😆  Just stop. I'm truly disappointed with Judi Dench. I guess I shouldn't be. She owes that family something for making her 'Dame.'"

This snarky netizen added, "It's good to see that DameJudi Dench prioritizes standing up for the vulnerable and the powerless, as opposed to simping for her wealthy and privileged friends.

Among the backlash was a message from "The View" co-host Joy Behar who disagreed with Dench's request for a disclaimer every episode. During Thursday's episode of the talk show, Behar shared her thoughts, saying, "This dame disagrees with Dame Judi Dench because they tell you at the top that it is not a documentary, and if you have a brain, you can figure out that the writers have used history."

The co-host continued, "If it's documented history, then we can believe it, but we're not going to believe a conversation that's going on in the bedroom of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Nobody was there but the two of them, so you don't believe that part. But the historical part, you believe."

Despite the backlash, The Guardian reports that Netflix caved to Dame Dench's request by adding a "fictional dramatisation" clarification to the trailer of the series' fifth season. The trailer's description on YouTube now reads, "Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatisation tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the political and personal events that shaped her reign."