What in the name of all that is sexist?!
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Ever heard of Emilia Clarke? Of course you have. And so given all we know about the highly-acclaimed actor, which words would we use to describe her? Talented, maybe? Or downright inspirational? Yep, that too. But you know that thing where a talented woman achieves something incredible through hard work and ability and then a man reduces her to nothing more than fodder for the male gaze to comment on?! Yeah, that. Well that’s exactly what happened to Clarke and we just despair.
According to Australian news outlet Crikey, Patrick Delany – the CEO of Australian television company Foxtel (so, in short, someone who should absolutely know better) – made the comments while delivering a speech at the Sydney premiere of the highly anticipated House of the Dragon, the prequel to HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Before the first episode was premiered to an audience of around 200 people at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney, Delany recalled why he was late to start watching Game of Thrones when it originally premiered: “I was like, ‘What’s this show with the short, dumpy girl walking into the fire?’.”
Umm…
Thankfully, and quite rightly, the comment – which we can only assume was a bizarre, misjudged attempt at a joke – went down just as badly at the event as it seems to have done with the public, as those attending the screening reported that the response to his comment was “cold”. According to Vanity Fair, there was an audible gasp after that insult was dispatched, funny that, hey? And one attendee told Crikey, “It felt like he was expecting us to laugh along but people in the room were obviously shocked by it.” Another said, “There was a bit of a gasp.”
And though Delany didn’t mention Clarke by name, given that her iconic character, Daenerys Targaryen, walks through fire during the series, it’s pretty clear who he was referring to.
And then, in what was clearly intended as an attempt to rectify the situation due to the backlash but actually feels like a bit of a rambling, non-apology, Foxtel responded by trying to justify Delany’s remark with the following statement:
“The aim was to convey that for him, Games Of Thrones was something very different for television in 2011 and that Emilia Clarke went from relatively unknown to one of the most recognised and most-loved actors in television and film.
“On behalf of Mr. Delany, the Foxtel Group apologies if his remarks were misunderstood and caused any offence,” the statement concluded.
You know a better way of saying that, Delaney? Maybe something like this: “For me, Games Of Thrones was something very different for television in 2011 and that Emilia Clarke went from relatively unknown to one of the most recognised and most-loved actors in television and film.”
There, we fixed it for you, wasn’t too hard was it?
Emilia has not responded to Patrick Delany’s comments, probably because she is too busy being a total badass, living her best life and doesn’t want to waste her breathe on responding to such an ignorant display of sexism.
