Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany landed in hot water last week, angering a legion of “Game of Thrones” fans when he referred to actress Emilia Clarke as “dumpy” at a premiere event for the series spin-off “House of Dragons.”
Delaney, who runs the Australian television company, admitted that he had been late to the “Game of Thrones” party and that at first, he hadn’t really understood the level of hype that surrounded it.
“I was like, ‘What’s this show with the short, dumpy girl walking into the fire?'” he said, referring to Clarke’s character Daenerys Targaryen.
“It felt like he was expecting us to laugh along,” one person who attended the event told Australian news outlet Crikey, “but people in the room were obviously shocked by it.”
“Yeah, I was there for this, and turned to my mate for clarification as I simply didn’t believe someone would say that on mic,” film critic Travis Johnson added.
Yeah, I was there for this, and turned to my mate for clarification as I simply didn't believe someone would say that on mic. https://t.co/GtOK67GJxh
— Travis Johnson (@CelluloidWhisky) August 17, 2022
Author EK Johnson noted, “I will fully acknowledge that I am just overprotective of Emilia Clarke, but IMAGINE being a TV CEO at an event for a GoT spin-off, and the first adjective you can come up with for her is ‘dumpy.’ Men do not deserve these kind of positions or paycheques.”
“Why is it that someone (that looks) like @PatrickDelany feel that it’s ok to make derogatory references to one of the greatest women of our time. Emilia Clarke was an unknown actress playing an unknown character and she made her infinitely iconic. What would your wife say?” @Hardbackwriter tweeted.
“Imagine insulting Emilia Clarke. She’s legit like the sweetest celebrity ever if you watch even one of her interviews. The woman is impossible to dislike,” @chronokatie said.
“Every man who insults a woman by commenting on her physical appearance should be very closely scrutinized by masses of people, his likeness magnified, every flaw & cruelty exposed for commentary,” author Joyce Carol Oates remarked. “It’s like police brutality — they will do it, as long as they can get away with it.”
A Foxtel spokesperson responded to the backlash with an official statement, saying, “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 recognized and most-loved actors in television and film. On behalf of Mr. Delany, the Foxtel Group apologizes if his remarks were misunderstood and caused any offense.”