Game of Thrones: Foxtel CEO calls Emilia Clarke a ‘chubby little girl’

British actress Emilia Clarke got her big break with her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones. Now, the Hollywood star was dubbed a “chubby little girl” at the premiere of the first Game of Thrones spin-off, titled House of the Dragon.

The statement came from an Australian TV broadcaster executive, Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany. At the premiere of “House of the Dragon” he remarked clumsily how he perceived the actress in the series. Delany recalled watching Game of Thrones for the first time at the event. “I was like, ‘What is this show with the little chubby girl running into the fire?'” he said.

The audience was ‘shocked’

Two witnesses saw what happened and said the longtime Foxtel CEO made the remark completely emotionless and cold. In addition, the audience was anything but enthusiastic: “It seemed like he expected us to laugh, but the people in the room were obviously shocked,” explained one. “There was a little wheezing,” added the other person present.

But no insult?

Foxtel confronted the CEO about the event. According to a spokesman, the manager had no offensive intentions, but only aimed to be “self-deprecating and relaxed” about his perception. He made the following statement: “The aim was to convey that Games of Thrones was something new for him on television in 2011 and that Emilia Clarke went from being relatively unknown to one of the most well-known and loved actresses in television and film. On behalf of Mr. Delany, the Foxtel Group apologizes if his comments were misunderstood and offensive,” he said, apologizing on behalf of Foxtel for the inconvenience.

Since the spin-off “House of the Dragon” takes place hundreds of years before “Game of Thrones”, Clarke is not involved in the production. Foxtel also announced in 2019 that the controversial Game of Thrones series finale resulted in the largest influx of subscribers in the company’s history. The prequel series is scheduled for release on August 21st.

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