Sue Perkins has apologised after misgendering Emma D’Arcy by accident last week.
During a red carpet interview, the comedian was speaking with D’Arcy’s House Of The Dragon co-star Matt Smith, when she referred to the actor as “she”. D’Arcy identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.
Smith subtly corrected Perkins’ mistake by saying: “I have to say, aren’t they brilliant? They are absolutely brilliant and you’re in for a real treat with Emma this year.”
He continued to praise his co-star’s work saying: “It’s a really great performance.”
Perkins has since addressed the mistake, and made a post to her official X account apologising for her error.
She wrote: “It was a shitty mistake. Had loads of stuff going on in my earpiece and so wasn’t as focused as I should have been. No excuses though.”
It was a shitty 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
— Sue Perkins 💙 (@sueperkins) June 11, 2024
“These things matter and I feel terrible about it,” Perkins added. “Am a massive fan of their work and would never want to be disrespectful x”.
Perkins’ post was in response to a message from another X user who wrote: “I highly doubt @sueperkins of all people would misgender on purpose, it’s hard to know everyone’s pronouns without guidance. I would have made the same mistake.”
Responding to Perkins’ apology, the user wrote: “As someone who is misgendered on a regular basis, we get it. Mistakes are made,” to which Perkins replied: “I’m sorry x”.
The second season of the Game Of Thrones spin-off series, House Of The Dragon, will air on HBO and Sky Atlantic this week.
Episodes will air weekly every Sunday, with episode one, titled ‘A Son For A Son’, being released on June 16 in the US, and 1am on June 17 for UK viewers.