J.K. Rowling and Nigel Farage were referenced by Maxine Peake whilst she drew comparisons between the late Mary Whitehouse’s campaigning and ‘culture wars’ today recently
Actor Maxine Peake has criticised public figures like J.K. Rowling and Nigel Farage for their commentary amid living in “divisive times”. She shared her thoughts recently whilst discussing the late ‘moral crusader’ Mary Whitehouse.
Maxine, 51, will portray conservative activist Mary, known for campaigning against what she considered to be ‘filth’ on TV and her views on sexuality, among other things, in the play the Last Stand of Mrs. Mary Whitehouse. It’s scheduled to open at the Nottingham Playhouse this evening.
Ahead of opening night, Maxine, who has starred in shows like dinnerladies, spoke about the role on a radio show, in an episode released yesterday. She drew comparisons to public figures of today in the recent interview.
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Whilst discussing the upcoming production, Maxine was asked on on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row if there are parallels between Mary’s campaigning and today’s ‘culture wars’. She responded to host Samira Ahmed by saying: “Absolutely.”
Further sharing her thoughts, she said that some celebrities speak out on issues that she feels they don’t understand. Maxine said: “You can’t not look at very public people, celebrities, speaking out on issues that, like Mary, have no understan … y’know I feel have no understanding.”
She went on to mention author J.K, known for the Harry Potter book series, who has been met with both praise and criticism over comments about the trans community. Maxine continued: “I will say it: J.K. Rowling. You’ve got people speaking out. Y’know we’re now in this … y’know the trans community, what has been happening and the abuse.”
Maxine went on to reference Reform UK leader Nigel, whose opinions, like on immigration, have proved divisive, during the interview. She said: “But not only that. We’re looking at I think people like Farage, the far … the right.”
She continued by saying: “We’ve got these figureheads now who have this charm and this charisma.” Maxine added: “And people are a little bit lost and they’d be able to draw people in with a really dangerous ideology I believe.”
Front Row presenter Samira responded by saying that there are “strong feelings” on both sides of some debates. The host said: “I should say on some of these issues there are strong feelings on different sides about rights and wrongs.”
Maxine agreed with the suggestion, before adding that there is division at the moment. Responding to host Samira, the actor said on the BBC Radio show: “Absolutely, y’know, but yeah … we are in … I think, yeah, we’re in very divisive times.”
Source: Mirror
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