House Of The Dragon: This TV CEO SAID WHAT About Emilia Clarke At Australian HOTD Premiere

Is this guy an idiot or did he really think that he was being funny? Australian TV CEO, Patrick Delany, was doing an interview PROMOTING House of the Dragon Australian premier when he thought it would be a good idea to call Emilia Clarke a “dumpy-looking girl walking around in flames”.

Okay, I get what this guy was going for. He was trying to self-deprecate himself as an idiot for not watching Game of Thrones when the show was in its heyday, though the only thing he managed to self-deprecate was his own career.

First, why are you going on an HBO show’s red carpet and insulting the main star of said show’s predecessor? Not only was Game of Thrones the MOST SUCCESFUL show HBO has ever made, but Emilia Clarke was also one of HBO’s most marketable stars (and she still is).

Second, was Delany trying to destroy his own and his TV network’s, Foxtel, credibility? I’m not sure why Delany (who doesn’t have any involvement that I could find with HOTD) was at the premier, apart from it being in Australia, but I’m sure he was looking to worm himself and his company into the good graces of HBO.

HBO is one of, if not the, largest names in television and would help the fortunes of any smaller company, such as Foxtel, in the T.V. and entertainment market. Especially in the ever-desired US market.

Insulting Clarke was not the way to do that, even if you didn’t mean the joke in a negative manner. Now, people will only associate Delany and Foxtel as being the people who insulted the biggest star from Game of Thrones. I’m sure everyone at Foxtel is thanking Patrick for this new reputation.

Third, Emilia Clarke was never a “dumpy-looking girl”, and especially not in Season 1 (which is when she was walking around in flames). Now, I’m not sure how he meant the word “dumpy”, but when I looked it up, the only definition I could find was “they are short and fat, and are usually implying they are unattractive” (Collins Dictionary).

HOW IS THAT EMILIA CLARKE? The featured image I used was of Emilia Clarke during Season 1. Does she look dumpy to you? She definitely doesn’t look dumpy to me.

Plus, how do you go from being “dumpy” in 2011 to being named Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive in 2015? I’ve got a feeling that Delany still hasn’t watched Game of Thrones.

Regardless, I don’t care even if she did look dumpy as it’s not my place or Delany’s to judge someone based on their looks. When you’re an actor/actress, you should be judged based off your performances and character work. That’s the standard.

And Emilia Clarke nailed her role as Queen Daenerys Targaryen as she not only earned Emmy nominations for her work as Daenerys in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019 (she definitely wasn’t a dumpy actress), but also created a pop-culture icon out of the Dragon Queen. Back in 2019, the Washington Post released an article describing how over 3,500 parents named their newborn daughters after the Targaryen queen.

Clearly, Emilia did something right.

Anyway, I don’t mean for this article to be used to get Patrick Delany fired or Foxtel to be taken off the air as that would be an extreme reaction to a dumb comment. Rather, I’m just here to rag on Delany and his stupidity and help spread awareness to the millions of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon fans that Emilia Clarke never was, is, or shall be a “dumpy-looking girl walking around in flames”.

What a way to kick off House of the Dragon in Australia.

Images Source: Featured Image: (HBO) (Game of Thrones-Winter Is Coming)

Other Sources: (Collins Dictionary) (Dumpy definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary (collinsdictionary.com))

(Esquire) (Game of Thrones Emilia Clarke Is the SWA for 2015 (esquire.com))

(Washington Post) (Why at least 3,500 parents may be having regrets after last night’s ‘Game of Thrones’ – The Washington Post)