Emilia Clarke Called a “Short Dumpy Girl” by TV Exec Because Men Continue To Be Trash

We have another entry into the world of “Why are men?” and today’s is a doozy! According to Crikey, an Australian news outlet, the premiere of HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon kicked off with TV exec Patrick Delany insulting Emilia Clarke for no reason other than to try to make a joke! This is a good time to remember that men are not funny.

(Before my inbox is filled with men telling me that I’m mean to generalize them or that they’re not like most men, I get it. Relax. Carry on with your day and stop yourself from wasting time emailing me, please. I’m begging.)

Vanity Fair reported that Delany, CEO of Australian television company Foxtel, was celebrating the premiere of House of the Dragon as part of its Sydney premiere. And Delany reportedly decided it was time to have his stand-up routine worked out because he started his speech talking about the original Game of Thrones series and what he thought about it when he first watched it.

According to the report, Delany insulted star Emilia Clarke as his way of making a joke about his first time watching Game of Thrones. “I was like, ‘What’s this show with the short, dumpy girl walking into the fire?’” It is reported in the Vanity Fair piece that there was a gasp after he said it and that people were obviously upset by what he said, and honestly, excuse my French, but no shit!

Crikey shared a statement from Foxtel about Delany’s comments: “On behalf of Mr Delany, the Foxtel Group apologies if his remarks were misunderstood and caused any offence.”

The CEO was “trying” to be funny, and I don’t know what was funny about calling a woman dumpy in any scenario, but I don’t know, if Emilia Clarke is considered “short” and “dumpy” by men, then there’s no hope for the rest of us short girls.

Why are we constantly commenting on how women look???

Not only is this … not a joke at all, but also, this is commenting on a woman and her body in a way that doesn’t make any sense regardless of whether or not Delany was trying to be funny. It’s still commenting on the body of a woman in a completely unnecessary way. Why did he Delany think saying Emilia Clarke was “short” and “dumpy” was funny? Because despite the fact that by societal standards, Emilia Clarke is far from what would be described as “dumpy,” it’s still not the place of a man to make that kind of comment no matter what a woman looks like.

Earlier today, I wrote about how people were making comments about Florence Pugh’s breasts and now this? This isn’t uncommon. Female celebrities are constantly the subject of body-shaming and ridicule.

But this premiere, frankly, had nothing to do with Emilia Clarke, and this comment feels like Delany was just waiting for the opportunity to make sure his really shitty joke was heard and talked about. The show House of the Dragon takes place long before the original series does, and if he wanted to make a joke about how he didn’t know what this series was, there are plenty of ways Delany could have gone about that without him poking fun at Emilia Clarke’s body. Maybe poke fun at your ineptness in terms of fantasy series, Pat.

So here you go, sir. We’re talking about your gross statement! I hope you’re happy now.

(featured image: HBO)