Duchess to Mills McCartney: If you can’t stand the heat ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Sarah Ferguson, no stranger to unflattering coverage in the British press, can empathize with Heather Mills McCartney, but doesn’t have much sympathy for Paul McCartney’s estranged wife in her battle with the press.

Mills McCartney, who is going through a bitter divorce with the ex-Beatle, went on a tirade this week against the British press on talk shows in London and the U.S.

Ferguson said she can understand Mills McCartney’s frustration.

“It’s quite difficult when you’re in it — when it’s right in your face,” the Duchess of York told The Associated Press on Thursday night. “But there’s always a reason for it, so maybe you have to change something in yourself.”

“It’s give and take,” she said. “... If you are on the public stage, it’s your public stage. Otherwise, don’t be on the public stage.”

Ferguson spoke at La Dolce Vita, a charity dinner and concert that not only honored Ferguson for her past charitable works but also served as the kickoff of her new organization, The Sarah Ferguson Foundation, which promises to be the “global voice for forgotten children and causes.”

Ferguson said she has learned to value the press — because it has given her a voice to speak out about causes that she cares about. But she acknowledges there were times when she wanted to shrink away from the spotlight.