Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany described Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke as a “short, dumpy girl” at the premiere of the long-awaited prequel series House of the Dragon, shocking attendees.
Delany made the comments during a speech before the screening of the first episode of the series at the Sydney premiere at the Entertainment Quarter. The long-time Foxtel executive retold how he was late to start watching Game of Thrones.
“I was like, ‘What’s this show with the short, dumpy girl walking into the fire?'” he said.
According to two attendees, the response to the comment was cold.
“It felt like he was expecting us to laugh along but people in the room were obviously shocked by it,” one said. “There was a bit of a gasp,” another said.
A Foxtel Group spokesperson told Crikey that Delany’s comments were meant to be self-deprecating and light-hearted: “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,” they said.
“On behalf of Mr Delany, the Foxtel Group apologises if his remarks were misunderstood and caused any offence.”
Game of Thrones was purportedly the world’s most-watched television series. In Australia, it’s been a key property for Foxtel across its services. According to the company’s press release, the series finale in 2019 delivered the largest overnight subscription television audience at that time. House of the Dragon is the highly anticipated follow-up to the smash-hit series, with hopes it can also serve as a major tentpole exclusive for services such as Binge and Foxtel.
Clarke is not in the new series and is slated to appear in the coming Marvel television series Secret Invasion.
Delany was appointed Foxtel CEO in 2018. He’s overseen the launch of services such as Binge, Kayo and Flash, while a planned IPO for the company has been reportedly put on hold.
Update: This article has been updated to include comment from a Foxtel Group spokesperson.
