newsroompost
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • twitter

Foxtel CEO insults Emilia Clarke for playing ‘short, dumpy girl’ in Game of Thrones, company issues apology

He was attempting to crack a joke about the show, but it totally went in some other direction.  

New Delhi: Australian television company, Foxtel’s CEO made a shocking remark about Emilia Clarke in ‘Game of Thrones’. The television company has apologized for the remarks by CEO Patrick Delany. The insulting remarks came at a premiere, just before the release of ‘House of the Dragon’.

According to Australian news outlet Crikey, Delany was telling about how he was late to begin watching the popular fantasy drama in which Clarke portrayed the character of Daenerys Targaryen. Referring to the character, he said, “I was like, what’s this show with the short, dumpy girl walking into the fire?” He was attempting to crack a joke about the show, but it totally went in some other direction.

An attendee told the Australian outlet that Delany was expecting a laugh after this but people in the room were shocked by it. Film critic Travis Johnson, who attended the event, shared his views via Twitter, saying, “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.”

The company issued an apology the next day. The statement, defending the CEO and trying to clarify, said, “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.” Further, in the statement, the firm apologised for the remarks being misunderstood and causing any offence.

Meanwhile, ‘House of the Dragon’ will release on August 21 on HBO. Emilia Clarke is not part of the show as the show is set 300 years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’.