‘Daisy Jones’ Star Suki Waterhouse Says Karen’s Big Decision Resonated Even More After Watching Rihanna at the Super Bowl

“It made me think deeply about the sacrifices women have to make and what was allowed or culturally accepted back then,” she told TheWrap

Actress and musician Suki Waterhouse’s perspective of her character Karen Sirko’s abortion scene in Episode 9 of “Daisy Jones & the Six” shifted when she saw Rihanna perform at the Super Bowl LVII. As the Prime Video series barrels towards its conclusion, keyboardist Karen finds herself being forced to choose between becoming a mother and continuing her career, something that became even more resonant as a pregnant Rihanna performed all her hits to adoring fans at this year’s Super Bowl.

“I got to play a part and make a huge decision with Karen that has a particular resonance in the world today. It made me think deeply about the sacrifices women have to make and what was allowed or culturally accepted back then,” she told TheWrap. “I think about how pregnancy and working at the same time is kind of celebrated and accepted so much more today. As we were about to do these interviews, I was watching the Super Bowl with Rihanna, and that kind of celebration just wasn’t really a thing in the ’70s.”

Karen, the keyboardist for fictional band Daisy Jones & the Six, gets pregnant after sleeping with Graham Dunne (Will Harrison). Graham, who is very obviously in love with Karen, gets excited at the prospect of raising a family, but Karen grapples more with the outcome because she doesn’t want to stop playing with the band.

“There was a line in the book when Karen finds out that there’s this big decision that she has to make, and Graham kind of just assumes that she’s going to leave the band and she’s like, ‘Well, I’m not quitting the band. You’re gonna quit the band?’” Waterhouse said. “I think [author] Taylor [Jenkins Reid] is so clever, because she constantly contradicts things. [Graham’s] being incredibly misogynistic, but he’s also incredibly sweet and he’s so in love with her. So you’re just put in this impossible position as the as the reader and the viewer.” 

“There wasn’t the kind of cultural understanding of work and support in place for women having children and it’s still incredibly difficult for us,” she added. “We’re still in all kinds of — we’re still in a horrendous position in a lot of ways.”

Though none of her music was used in the soundtrack to “Daisy Jones & the Six,” Waterhouse shared that working on the show helped her own creative accomplishments from finishing “I Can’t Let Go”. 

“‘Daisy Jones & the Six’ gave me so many gifts. When I got the show, I’d been putting out music for a couple of years and I had this album in waiting that I still hadn’t managed to put together and finish, and I think being around all these amazing collaborators that we had being in Sound City studios, playing Karen, who was very confident and very fearless and about what she wanted. I think playing Karen like pushed me over the edge and made me get get my shit together and make the record that I want to do,” Waterhouse said.

“Since we stopped filming, I’ve done 70 performances, two tours, got a label, released music. Things have been happening in music that I never ever would have expected. And Miss Cami Morrone even came to my show the other day. It’s like a full life circle.”

All ten episodes of “Daisy Jones & the Six” are now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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