Sue Perkins has held her hands up and apologised after accidentally misgendering House of Dragon’s actor Emma D’Arcy.
The former Great British Bake Off host, 54, was speaking to D’Arcy’s co-star, Matt Smith, 41, at the season two premiere in London on Monday when she made the slip up.
Referring to D’Arcy, who is gender non-binary, as "she” and uses “they/them” pronouns, Perkins was corrected by Smith, who heaped praise on D’Arcy, saying: "aren't they brilliant?"
Perkins’ error did not go unnoticed and she soon felt the wrath of the internet.
Matt correcting Sue on Emma's pronouns OH MY HEART 😭 pic.twitter.com/G6kBssjIG2
— gee 🗡 (@uncledaddyism) June 10, 2024
Addressing the furore on X, formerly known as Twitter, "It was a s****y mistake. Had loads of stuff going on in my earpiece and so wasn't as focused as I should have been.
“No excuses though. These things matter and I feel terrible about it. Am a massive fan of their work and would never want to be disrespectful x."
Responding to her post, one person wrote: “As someone who is misgendered on a regular basis, we get it. Mistakes are made.”
Perkins then reiterated: “I’m sorry x,” in reply.
Another user said that they hope that the presenter would “apologise directly to Emma too”.
“Of course I will,” the TV personality promised.
The Game of Thrones spin-off show returns on June 17 via Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV.
The latest batch of episodes will see D’Arcy return as Rhaenyra Targaryen, who is facing war opposite Olivia Cooke’s Alicent Hightower and the other faction of the Targaryen family as both sides vie for the Iron Throne.
