Australian paid television broadcasting company Foxtel has apologized for its CEO Patrick Delaney's inappropriate remarks about actress Emilia Clarke during the Sydney premiere of HBO's House of the Dragon.
For some reason, Delaney apparently thought it was acceptable to refer to Clarke as a "short, dumpy girl" during his speech at the premiere.
As he relayed the story of how he was late to start Game of Thrones, he said:
"I was like, 'What's this show with the short, dumpy girl walking into the fire?'"
According to Australian news site Crikey, two attendees said fellow audience members were quite uncomfortable with Delaney's quip.
"It felt like he was expecting us to laugh along but people in the room were obviously shocked by it."
"There was a bit of a gasp."
Foxtel has since issued what is essentially a non-apology for Delaney's words:
"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 recognised and most-loved actors in television and film. On behalf of Mr Delany, the Foxtel Group apologises if his remarks were misunderstood and caused any offence."
Twitter was largely disappointed but unsurprised by Delaney thinking this was an acceptable anecdote to share in a public setting.
Several people commented on the fact the non-apology came from Foxtel and not from Delaney himself.
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Quite a few were confused by the attempt to spin Delaney's comment as "self deprecating" when he was, in fact, insulting someone else's appearance and not his own.
There were several calls for Delaney to see actual consequences for his remark.
House of the Dragon is set to release on HBO and HBO Max on August 21, 2022 at 9pm EST.
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