Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, is currently believed to be living abroad while reconsidering her future amid ongoing fallout from her association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In September, several charities severed their connections with Ferguson after it emerged she had emailed Epstein just weeks after vowing to cut all contact with him. More recently, troubling new emails revealed by the US Department of Justice painted an even more disturbing picture: Ferguson allegedly asked Epstein to “marry” her, offered to facilitate Buckingham Palace tours for his clients, and introduced her daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to Epstein.
Away from these controversies, Australian television presenter Michael Usher experienced his own challenging encounter with Ferguson during a 2011 60 Minutes Australia interview — the same year she sent those controversial emails.
READ MORE: Is Red Wine Good for You? Heart Surgeon Settles the Debate
READ MORE: Dr Michael Mosley’s Simple Technique That Transformed His Health
The interview was notoriously difficult. Usher revealed on Nova 96.9’s Fitzy and Wippa show that Ferguson insisted he address her strictly as “Duchess,” refusing to use her first name despite his attempts.
“It was all airs and graces,” he said. “She was relatively sweet at first, but then suddenly she shifted — a different personality completely.” When discussing her memoir, Finding Sarah: A Duchess’s Journey to Find Herself, Ferguson warned, “Don’t try to trick me now because I am not going to play this game. Delete that bit.”
The tension escalated when Usher played undercover footage reportedly showing Ferguson implying access to her former husband Prince Andrew in exchange for payment.
The interview ended on a sour note with Ferguson walking out multiple times. But the drama didn’t stop there. As Usher and his crew stepped outside, Ferguson, now barefoot and in stockings, chased after them across the lawn.
“I just remember thinking, ‘If I were you, I’d want to go back in and do that interview all over again because I don’t know what happened,’” Usher recalled. Ferguson then shifted gears, offering to sign books and engaging in friendly banter about his children before departing.
Usher later called the interview a “train wreck” and admitted, “She walked out on me three or four times. It was absolutely horrendous.”