Margot Robbie defends 'I, Tonya' against historical inaccuracy criticism (exclusive)

Centering a film around notorious figure skater Tonya Harding, known equally for being involved in a plot to brutally injure a competitor as she was for her excellence on the ice, was always going to be a bit controversial.

And so it proved, with one Sports Illustrated reporter who originally covered the incident going as far as to say she felt nauseated by the film.

But how do the people behind I, Tonya feel about the criticism of the film’s lack of historical accuracy?

“It’s funny, while we’re doing this press quite a lot of people ask: ‘So who actually did it, who’s fault was it?’” Margot Robbie told Yahoo. “And I keep thinking ‘Oh wow, I guess you missed the point of the film.’ That’s not what it’s about. At some point through this journey we realise that reality and truth really parted ways, the film’s about is how everyone has their own truth.”

“People can be in the same place at the same time and remember the exact same thing in a totally different way. That’s really the reason Steven put so many unreliable narrators contradicting each other. And it’s something we experience, in life too.”

“I thought that was such a clever way to comment on that, and see how people control their narrative, and justify their actions so they can live with themselves. It’s a very human thing to do. I think in that way, it lets us relate to the characters, and be intrigued and entertained at the same time.”

“I don’t really understand that response because there’s a title card at the beginning, which says it’s based on irony free interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly,” writer Steven Rogers confirmed.

“When I interviewed them, their recollections were wildly different – they didn’t remember anything the same. I tried to put everybody’s point of view up there, I never felt like I was say one point of view, it was the mother’s, the coach’s, the bodyguard’s and Tonya and Jeff’s.”

“That’s what I loved about the script, it’s a subjective experience and you get to decide what the truth is,” director Craig Gillespie said.

I, Tonya is in UK cinemas now

Read more
Margot Robbie’s withering reaction to Kate Winslet
Margot Robbie meets Tonya Harding at I, Tonya premiere
‘I, Tonya’ Gets Torn to Shreds by a Reporter