An apology has been issued to Emilia Clarke after she was insulted by an Australian CEO during an appearance at a premiere event for the new HBO show House of the Dragon.
Patrick Delany, who is the CEO of Australian television company Foxtel, made a comment about Emilia at the event which elicited a lot of controversy and definitely raised eyebrows.
Foxtel is the Australian home to Game Of Thrones. The network held a premiere for the GOT prequel series House of the Dragon last week. Patrick gave a speech during the event, and it was then that he made a controversial joke about watching Game of Thrones for the first time — a joke done at Emilia’s expense. Patrick said:
“I was like, ‘What’s this show with the short, dumpy girl walking into the fire?’”
In the aftermath, a spokesperson for Foxtel issued an apology. Here’s what they said:
“The aim was to convey that for him, Game 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.”
