Sue Perkins breaks silence on misgendering actor: “It was a s***** mistake I feel terrible”

Great British Bake Off star, Sue Perkins, is under fire for incorrectly misgendering Matt Smith’s co-star, Emma D’Arcy, during the House of the Dragons season two premiere

Sue Perkins has admitted to making a “s***ty mistake” after misgendering House of Dragons star Emma D’Arcy.

The former Great British Bake Off host, 54, was speaking to Emma’s co-star, Matt Smith, 41, at the season two premiere when she made the slip up. Referring to Emma, who is non-binary, as “she”, Sue was quickly corrected by Matt, who gushed: “aren’t they brilliant?”

Fans have now slammed Sue on X, formerly known as Twitter, prompting the Cambridge alum to issue a grovelling apology. Addressing the furore, she wrote: “It was a s****y 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.”

Responding to her apology, one follower said: “Sue Perkins is apologising, well I’m glad you’re assuming your mistake. Hope you apologise directly to Emma too.” Sue replied: “Of course I will.”

Elsewhere on X, Sue was slammed again by another fan who said she should have known better, particularly during Pride month. They said: “And during Pride month [sad emoji. Your apology is appreciated, but this is near equivalent of calling a black person the N-word. If you truly believed & respected non-binary identities in your heart, then it shouldn’t take such a massive effort to get right.”

After seeing the comment, Sue replied: “I’m sorry x”. However, someone else told the fan to “get a grip” after comparing the openly gay presenter to a racist.

In a clip shared on social media in which Sue interviews Doctor who star, Matt, who plays the mercurial Daemon Targaryen in the House of Dragons, the BBC star said: “I was talking to Emma and she was talking about how amazing that end scene was… and she gave you all the credit.” Putting an emphasis on ‘they’, Matt replied: “I can’t take the credit, but I have to say, aren’t they brilliant? They are absolutely brilliant and you’re in for a real treat with Emma this year. I think Emma’s put in a really great performance.”

Responding to the exchange, one fan wrote: “Matt correcting Sue on Emma’s pronouns OH MY HEART.” Another pointed out it wasn’t the first time it had happened during the premiere, saying: “Emma deserves better as this wasn’t the only time this happened at the premiere.”