Celebrity3 min(s) read
Actor opens up on 'cannibal' treatment after eating her mother's ashes
British actor Rachael Stirling has sparked huge backlash since making the shocking revelation that she eats her Game of Thrones star mother’s ashes.
In her new book, a memoir called All About My Mother, Stirling admitted that she consumed a “grain or two” of her mum Diana Rigg's ashes before heading on stage for the opening night of a new play.
Rigg played Olenna Tyrell, the sharp-witted and formidable Queen of Thorns in HBO hit show Game of Thrones from season three to season seven.
"I eat her ashes before going on stage," Stirling wrote in her memoir.
She added, understandably, “It shocks people when I tell them.”
However, she claims, "It feels absolutely natural to me. I am cloaked in her, shielded and shrouded by her. My mother is my superpower."
The shocking ritual went viral when confession was leaked from book
After the jaw-dropping revelation was leaked ahead of the book’s publication, it quickly went viral and made headlines across the world. Responding to one of the damaging headlines in The Guardian, Stirling claimed she was “portrayed as a matricidal cannibal” by the media.
In her memoir, she describes why she chose to put “a few spilt cinders” on her tongue before her first 2022 performance in Scandaltown.
Stirling confessed: "It didn’t feel wrong, it felt completely right," adding that her nerves 'disappeared' after consuming the ashes.
"I know this sounds bats**t, but it made complete sense to me."
She also admitted that she has repeated the unorthodox ritual on the opening night of every play she has been in since.
In the days since the stomach-churning revelation went viral, Stirling claimed that she has had some pretty brutal reactions. Besides one widow who bravely admitted to consuming her loved ones’ ashes online, the vast majority of people are staunchly against her gruesome good luck ritual.
The Tipping the Velvet star said: "Reactions vary from sour lemon-sucking grimaces to downright disgust.
"Despite this, I will not be persuaded to give up the habit. I will die on the hill of my ash-eating."
Is eating a person’s ashes actually cannibalism?
While the slightly disturbing practice is certainly not as disgusting or incriminating as actual cannibalism, the act of eating human flesh is considered endocannibalism.
In many cultures, eating a loved one’s cremated remains is seen as a ritual of respect or mourning for the deceased person.
However, due to the potentially extremely dangerous toxins, chemicals, and heavy metals, such as carcinogenic formaldehyde, left over from the cremation, consuming singed human remains certainly is not recommended by most medical professionals.