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The question

What is the harshest thing anyone has said to you?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Others on this question

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Rita Wilson American actress, singer, and producer
I was opening in a play in my 20s, and my agent came on opening night, brought flowers, took me out to dinner and then told me she was no longer going to be representing me.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 1 April 2023 source ↗
Chaka Khan American singer
A friend said, “If you remembered everything you did, you’d kill yourself.” He’s sort of crazy, but he’s probably right.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 May 2024 source ↗
Peter Sarsgaard
When I was first acting, in college, a relative came and saw me in Hedda Gabler and she said: “Look in the mirror, you’re not an actor. An actor looks like Mel Gibson.”
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 24 February 2024 source ↗
Maggie O'Farrell Irish-British novelist
“You’ll never walk again.” This was when I was eight or nine and recovering from viral encephalitis.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 March 2023 source ↗

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