grammar - 私に言われても versus 私が言われても

I am aware that "言われる" means "to be told". My impression would be that "私に言われても" means "Even if I told you..." while "私が言われても" means "Even if I am told...".

But this site answer seems to suggest that another interpretation of "私に言われても" is "Even if I am told..."

Is that a correct interpretation, and, if possible to explain, why?

Answer

私に言われても is Suffering Passive (迷惑の受身), a kind of Indirect Passive Structure (間接受身構文), and 私が言われても is Direct Passive Structure (直接受身構文).

「（あなたが）私に言う」 (Active/能動) "You tell me."
→ Direct Passive: 「私が（あなたに）言われる」 "I am told (by you)."

→ Indirect Passive: 「（私が）（あなたに）私に*言われる」 "You tell me (and it affects me in some way)." This means "You do the action 私に言う (you tell me) and it affects me or I am suffered/annoyed, etc." _{*The に marks the indirect object of 言う.}

So... yes, that is a correct interpretation, and 「私に言われても（困る）...」 is actually far more natural and more common than 「私が言われても...」 for saying "Even if I'm told / Even if you tell me (I can't do anything)..."

For more about Indirect Passive, you could refer to: