“Game of Thrones” Star Kit Harington Is Apologizing for Previous Quotes on Sexism
Jon Snow may know nothing, but the actor who plays him in Game of Thrones, Kit Harington, is far from clueless. The star, who just got engaged to his former co-star, Rose Leslie, is speaking up to apologize for quotes he made in the past about sexism that he now feels were erroneous.
The remarks in question came last year, when the 30-year-old told The Sunday Times that he regularly faces sexism as a man in Hollywood. “I think there is a double standard,” he said at the time. “If you said to a girl, ‘Do you like being called a babe?’ and she said, ‘No, not really,’ she’d be absolutely right.”
The actor went on to compare his own experience to that of a woman’s, telling the UK publication, “I like to think of myself as more than a head of hair or a set of looks. It’s demeaning. Yes, in some ways you could argue I’ve been employed for a look I have. But there’s a sexism that happens towards men. There’s definitely a sexism in our industry that happens towards women, and there is towards men as well … At some points during photoshoots when I’m asked to strip down, I felt that.”
The comments drew ire from many, including those in the public eye, such as Patricia Clarkson.
Now, he’s adressing his former statement by admitting that he was off the mark. “I was wrong there,” he told The Guardian in a piece published over the weekend. “Sexism against men is not something I should have really said.”
He went a step further and explained the motivation behind his former claim, saying, “I think what I meant was, being objectified. At that time, I did feel objectified… I do feel I have been objectified in the past, sexually as well, in pieces that have been written about me… Has that made me feel uncomfortable in the past? Yes. Do I think my position is the same as a woman’s in society? No. They’re very different things, and I should have separated them. I was wrong.”
Kudos to Harington for being willing to listen to and understand the opinions of others and for making an effort to make things right.
What do you think about what Kit Harington has to say about sexism and being objectified? Let us know @BritandCo!
(Photo via Tim P. Whitby/Getty + HBO)