Yeah, this was never going to go down very well.
The CEO of Australian television company Foxtel has come under fire for referring to Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke as a "short, dumpy girl." Patrick Delany was reportedly delivering a speech ahead of a screening of the first episode GOT prequel series House of the Dragon when he attempted - and that is the operative word - to make a joke about being so late to jump on the Game of Thrones bandwagon.
“I was like, ‘What’s this show with the short, dumpy girl walking into the fire?'” said Delany.
To be fair, Delany was talking about Clarke's character, Daenerys Targaryen, and not the actress herself, but even so, his "joke" was not appreciated. According to Vanity Fair, the audience did not respond very well to his remarks, and there were a few gasps from the crowd.
A spokesperson for Foxtel did issue an apology (of sorts), but it seems like a bit of a stretch, to say the least!
“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 apologies if his remarks were misunderstood and caused any offense.”
Knowing Clarke, she'll more than likely laugh this off, but we don't anticipate Delany addressing many live audiences for the next while!