Nicola Sturgeon blasts 'deeply misogynistic' Hollywood star after 'witch' jibe
The former SNP First Minister hit out at comments by Rupert Everett.
Nicola Sturgeon has dismissed a Hollywood star as 'deeply misogynistic' after he branded her a 'witch' who had spoiled the arts in Scotland.
The former First Minister also said the wider point Rupert Everett made about her record was 'baseless rubbish'.
Everett, whose work includes My Best Friend's Wedding and providing the voice of Prince Charming in Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, criticised the SNP 's time in power.
In an interview with the Herald, he contrasted the outlook of the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in previous decades to the arts under the Nationalist Government.
The 66 year old said: 'It was a European theatre in the same vein as Peter Stein, Pina Bauch. It was a national European theatre. And unlike those theatres, it never ran at a loss. It presented an uncompromising array of work to people that it never patronised.
'As soon as the witch Sturgeon came into power everything changed in Scottish arts and everything had to be about being Scottish."
'In the whole United Kingdom there was nothing like that theatre. It was one of the most extraordinary cultural events I think in the British scene postwar, frankly.'
Sturgeon, the country's longest-serving First Minister, hit back: "What is it with [some] men who can't disagree with a woman without resorting to deeply misogynistic tropes? His substantive point is baseless rubbish too.'
In May, Sturgeon said her support for trans rights had seen her endure more sexism than on any other issue.
She said: 'Many of those who are on the other side [of the issue] say it is all about protecting women.'
'Isn't it ironic that I have probably had more misogynistic abuse as a result of this issue than on any other issue in my entire political career. Go figure.'
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