Nicola Sturgeon brands actor Rupert Everett ‘deeply misogynistic'
Actor Rupert Everett, known for his role in My Best Friend's Wedding and the voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek franchise, called the former first minister 'a witch' when discussing the record of the SNP with the arts.
In an interview with The Herald, the actor – who moved to Glasgow when he was 18 to work at the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow – compared his time at the theatre with now, saying in the 1970s 'it had a global outlook'.
He said: 'It was a national European theatre … 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.'
Writing on Instagram, Sturgeon said: '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.'
Upcoming shows at the theatre include Small Acts of Love, set in Lockerbie in the wake of the 1988 Pan AM bombing, and a show about Glasgow's 'first unofficial gay bar'.
The Glass Menagerie, a Tennessee Williams play set in St Louis; Sweat, set in a rust belt town in Pennsylvania; and the English actor Kieran Hodgson impersonating 'a bunch of old prospectors and former presidents' in a stand-up set called Voice of America are also set to be shown.
READ MORE: 'Europe should thank us': Israeli ambassador to UK defends strikes on Iran
In May, Sturgeon insisted misogyny is potentially worse now than it was when she first started out in politics more than 20 years ago.
The former first minister's comments came after senior MPs called for a drastic overhaul of Westminster's culture amid concerns over sexism and inappropriate behaviour by politicians.
She said she felt social media had handed sexist men a platform to hurl direct abuse at women in a way they couldn't previously.
And she said it has led to some comments being much worse than they would've been in previous decades because people can hide behind a computer.
She told GMB at the time: "I don't think there is a woman alive, not just in politics but in any walk of life, who will not have experienced somewhere on the spectrum of misogyny and sexism behaviour which is unacceptable.
"For many, including myself, that will be at the end of the spectrum that is inappropriate comments and a sense of a culture of sexism, men making comments about what you wear and your hair and stuff.
"Of course, for some women, that goes to the other end of the spectrum and involves serious sexual assault and sometimes murder, so it's a societal problem.
"It can be worse in politics and public life.
'In some ways, I think it is worse today than it was when I was a woman starting out in politics."
Sturgeon also said the SNP had struggled to get women to put themselves forward as candidates in the local election because of sexism in society and politics.
She added: 'In this election, my party – and I think it will be the same for other parties – have found it more difficult than at any election I remember to persuade women to come forward because there's a sense that politics is not a safe space.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
STEPHEN DAISLEY: Swinney has no spark, no vision and no clue. If he were to quit now he'd leave no legacy ... just consequences
Reports of a plot to replace John Swinney as SNP leader prompt an obvious question: with whom? The First Minister's pitch when he took over the leadership was that he would be Mr Stability, a safe pair of hands who could move the party on from the Humza Yousaf disaster, factional disagreements over gender and independence strategy, and the never-ending police investigation. Now, there's a lot to be said for stability. After all, 'May you live in interesting times' is intended as a curse, not a blessing. But whose interests are served by Swinneyean 'stability'? Certainly not taxpayers who want to see their money spent wisely on the improvement of public services. Swinney, like his recent predecessors, is adept at raking money in and pouring it back out but the record on outcomes leaves a lot to be desired. The finance secretary who gutted funding for local government. The education secretary who tried to fix an exams disaster by downgrading the results of working-class children. The Covid recovery secretary who produced no recovery in hospitals or on high streets. The first minister who, over a long and undistinguished ministerial career, has had a hand in every calamity to issue from St Andrew's House, from the educational attainment gap to the unlawful named persons scheme, the Ferguson Marine ferries to the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, the secrecy that bedevilled the Alex Salmond inquiry to the brazen deletion of ministerial messages from the Covid pandemic. Internal rivals might be displeased with his absolutely honking performance in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, losing a safe SNP seat to a Labour party that he said wasn't even in the race, but if anyone is entitled to vent about the man's performance it is the general public. They thought they were getting a political handyman, someone who would roll up his sleeves and fix the breaks, cracks, squeaks and grumbles across government. Thirteen months later, the same faults remain. Decrepitude has become the norm. Which brings us back to the 'who' question. Let's say the plotters give Swinney his jotters. Who follows him into Bute House? Stephen Flynn is a name insiders keep bringing up, and I keep advising them to put right back down. Flynn is a wide boy with a restless mouth and a smug manner and zero in the way of executive experience. He is a less qualified Humza Yousaf. Angus Robertson? Cold, aloof, and unrelatable. If Scottish elections were held only in Stockbridge and Kelvinbridge, he'd romp home, but the farther you get from a university, a Waitrose or a book festival, the further his appeal diminishes. Kate Forbes could make a decent fist of it but the green-haired brigade would sooner see Reform in government than allow a Bible-believing Christian to lead the party. Not that any of this matters, of course. The problem is the SNP itself, its failure to govern and its shifting priorities. Scotland will not flourish under Swinney. It will not flourish under Flynn or anyone else touted as a possible successor. The SNP is not a party that exists to make Scotland flourish; it exists to make Scotland independent. Yet the Nationalists are no closer today to achieving either than they were 18 years ago when they entered government. Scotland did not flourish under Alex Salmond, whose energies were directed to the SNP's raison d'etre. It was of little consolation to those who hoped for economic and social progress during those first seven years, but Salmond spoke often of independence as the necessary condition for transforming the country into a powerhouse of prosperity, innovation and fairness. Unionists could dislike his objectives and his personality while recognising that he had ambition for the country, however misguided. Scotland is still not flourishing but nor is it making much progress towards independence. Under the post-Salmond leadership of the SNP, the unholy trinity of Nicola Sturgeon, Humza Yousaf and John Swinney, the journey has not merely stalled, the destination has changed. The immediate objective is not tending, growing or marshalling the independence movement, but entrenching and expanding their own ruling caste, a self-perpetuating elite whose purpose is not social or constitutional change but the acquisition of power and status for their own sake. They are in office to be in office and every decision is taken with the maintenance of office in mind. They are embedding themselves as the new Scottish establishment, helpfully sporting yellow rather than red rosettes so they may be distinguished from the old establishment, and nothing - not the improvement of education, nor the recovery of the NHS, nor even independence - will get in their way. That establishment was on full display last week in John Swinney's mini reshuffle, an ingathering of the inconsequential, an anointing of the adequate. It's hard to be disappointed in the calibre of ministers, for how do you work up any kind of feeling towards a Tom Arthur or a Màiri McAllan? There is nothing there to oppose because there is nothing there. At the head of this committee of beige sits Swinney, the beigest man of all.. No spark, no passion, no vision, no clue. Tomorrow, the First Minister will address the Scotland 2050 conference in Edinburgh where he will urge us to reject 'another 25 years of Westminster mismanagement' and instead 'look around us at our immense potential today, and have the confidence that we can do better with the full powers of independence'. The party that proclaimed 'Scotland free by 93', and then 'Nationalist heaven in 2007', now wants its followers to believe independence will be nifty in 2050. At some point, the party faithful will have to accept that they are not being led but strung along. The SNP will not deliver a booming economy and radically improved public services to ordinary voters, and nor will it, in its current incarnation, deliver independence to those for whom the constitution comes before all else. The SNP will deliver only for the nomenklatura in whose grips it has been held for more than a decade now. That ruling elite has its priorities but they are not those of the general public nor, for the most part, of the rank and file of the independence movement. They are nationalists who put themselves before the nation. Why remove John Swinney as leader when he is the ideal figurehead of today's SNP? A man with a lanyard, indistinguishable in ideology or political purpose from all the other men and women with lanyards, no more or less likely to grow the economy, close the attainment gap, meet A&E targets or secure another referendum on independence. If Swinney were to go now, he would leave no legacy, only consequences, fashioned by his failings but borne by others. The young people denied a quality, life-changing education. The local government services cut and the people who relied upon them abandoned. The hollowed out town centres, the boarded up shops and businesses, the pervasive economic despair and societal gloom of a country where venturing beyond the major cities will bring you face to face with communities that have been given up on for so long they have given up on themselves. A first minister worthy of the office would set about tackling these social ailments, but John Swinney is not worthy of the office, and nor are any of those who would be likely to succeed him.
ITV News
28 minutes ago
- ITV News
PM confident Trump will back Aukus submarine deal despite US review
Sir Keir Starmer has said he has "no doubt" that a major trilateral defence deal between the UK, Australia and the US will prove a success, despite the Donald Trump administration carrying out a review of the pact. Announced in 2021, Aukus involves the three nations building a new generation of nuclear-powered attack submarines and cooperating in other areas of advanced defence technology. The deal will also see Australia buy three Virginia-class submarines from the US ahead of the new vessels being built. That provision has led some in Washington, to question the deal on the grounds that the US may need those submarines if it finds itself in a war with China over Taiwan. Among those sceptical voices is Elbridge Colby, an official at the US defence department who is heading Washington's review of the deal. However, speaking to reporters ahead of the G7 leaders' summit in Canada, Starmer remained confident that the deal would go ahead as planned. "Aukus is really important. We're fully committed to it," the prime minister said, adding that it is "not unusual for an incoming government to do a review of project like that". The PM pointed to the UK's own review of the pact, led by Sir Stephen Lovegrove, adding: "I'm 100% committed to it, I'm pretty clear about that." Trump's 'America first' agenda has fuelled fears that the US could pull out, but asked if he was confident the president would end up backing it, Starmer said: "Yeah, I think so. "It's a really important project, so I don't have any doubt that this will progress." Asked if Britain would be able to contribute to the Washington review, Starmer said it is a matter for the US administration, a spokesperson for the PM said. Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats said the US' decision to launch a review of Aukus had 'thrown another grenade into our security partnership'. The party urged Starmer to meet the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese to 'develop contingency plans' should America withdraw from the partnership. Helen Maguire, the party's defence spokeswoman, said: 'Even in the face of an imperial Putin and the rising threat posed by China, this White House simply can't be relied upon to support our collective defence.'Our national security demands that we ramp up talks with our Commonwealth friends and work to plug the gap that the US is threatening to leave in European and global security.'However, last month, the new US ambassador to London used his first major speech in the job to back Stephens told an audience in Parliament that the US was 'proud to stand alongside Britain and Australia, two of our closest allies, as we deepen our collaboration to respond to a changing world'.
Glasgow Times
33 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Scottish council suggested Oasis fans are 'drunk and fat'
The remarks were revealed in safety briefings drawn up ahead of the band's three sellout shows at Murrayfield in August. In the documents, concerns were raised that the sold-out Oasis Live '25 Tour would clash with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. One note from the documents, which were released following a freedom of information request by the Scottish Sun, shows council officials warning that 'middle-aged men take up more room, consider this when working out occupancy'. READ MORE: Glasgow Oasis fans fall victim to 'ticketing scams' Another details 'concern about crowds of Oasis on weekends, as they are already rowdy and the tone of the band'. It adds: 'Concerned about the safety of the Fringe and its performers. Many performers are considering not attending for that weekend.' One document, which notes 'DF Concerts' in the heading, suggests there will be 'medium to high intoxication' at the concert, and to expect a 'substantial amount of older fans', but adds there have been 'minimal arrests' at recent Gallagher events. Scottish council suggested Oasis fans are 'drunk and fat' (Image: PA) Responding on social media, Gallagher said: 'To the Edinburgh council, I've heard what you said about Oasis fans and quite frankly your attitude f****** stinks. I'd leave town that day if I were any of you lot.' In a second post, he added: 'I'd love to see a picture of all the people on the Edinburgh Council, bet there's some real stunning individuals.' The meetings appear to involve a variety of groups, including promoters DF Concerts, Police Scotland, ScotRail, the Scottish Ambulance Service, and security firm G4S. READ MORE: Liam and Noel Gallagher 'pictured' on M8 amid Oasis 'reunion' David Walker, of the Oasis Collectors Group, criticised the comments made in the safety briefings. He told the Scottish Sun: 'To call fans drunk, middle-aged, and fat is a nasty, sneering stereotype, it's a jaundiced view.' Around 210,000 people are expected to attend the three Edinburgh shows amid the group's highly anticipated reunion tour. Culture and communities convener, councillor Margaret Graham, said: 'We're very proud to host the biggest and best events in Edinburgh throughout the year, which bring in hundreds of millions of pounds to the local economy and provide unparalleled entertainment for our residents and visitors. 'As with any major event which takes place in the city, we prepare extensively alongside our partners to ensure the safety and best possible experience of everyone involved – and Oasis is no different. 'No two events are the same in terms of requirements or planning, and our multi-agency approach reflects this appropriately. 'We're also working closely with residents in the local area to make sure these concerts pass off as smoothly as possible. 'Over the past few years, we've hosted many similar events and managed to strike the right balance between communicating well with residents and fulfilling the needs of major events, and I have no doubt we can do so once again. 'We always look to learn lessons from previous years to update and improve on our plans. 'We're all looking forward to seeing Oasis take to the stage this August and I'm sure that they'll 'live forever' as some of the most memorable concerts ever performed at Murrayfield.'
