Axe to grind! Lord of the Rings star blasts MPs’ Brexit ‘ betrayal’
...but then he lands himself in sexism row with former Green leader
LORD Of The Rings actor John Rhys-Davies rounded on MPs in an angry attack on Question Time in which he accused them of ‘betraying’ democracy by failing to deliver Brexit.
The 74-year-old actor, who played the axe-wielding dwarf Gimli in the blockbuster films, was applauded by the audience after saying he had ‘never seen such a level of anger’ at politicians.
But the Welshman – who despite his best-known role is in reality 6ft 1in tall – also sparked a sexism row when he slammed the table and exclaimed ‘Oh woman!’ after an intervention by former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas.
Other members of the panel on Thursday’s programme, filmed in Nottingham, included Labour’s Jon Ashworth and Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable.
Rhys-Davies won sustained audience applause when he spoke about growing anger in the country over the failure of politicians to deliver the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum.
He told fellow panellists: ‘I do believe every member here went into politics in order to do their best for the people who elected them. But your primary objective is to preserve democracy and whatever you may feel, you have betrayed democracy.’ The actor’s exchange with Miss Lucas came after he defended inviting President Trump for a state visit to Britain, saying: ‘He represents the American people.’
When the MP for Brighton Pavilion – seated next to him – pointed out that President Trump had lost the popular vote in 2016, RhysDavies erupted. Exclaiming ‘Oh woman!’ and banging the desk with both hands, he accused her of ignorance of political theories, adding: ‘Any system of election has its problems.’
But the remark – which had echoes of David Cameron’s infamous ‘Calm down, dear’ taunt at a female Labour MP – sparked accusations of sexism.
Labour MP Wes Streeting called him a ‘pompous, boorish oaf’. On social media, Dr Lauren Gavaghan likened him to ‘a petulant child’, adding: ‘This is precisely why facts are so key in public debate.’
Before the EU referendum RhysDavies accused Remain-backing celebrities including Benedict Cumberbatch of being part of a generation ‘brought up without a sense of national identity’.
He added: ‘The world is at a more dangerous time now than it’s been since I was doing my Cambridge entrance exams [during the Cuban missile crisis].’
Before Lord Of The Rings, RhysDavies was best known for roles in Raiders Of The Lost Ark in 1981 and the Bond movie The Living Daylights in 1987.
He sparked controversy in 2004 when his comments about a ‘demographic catastrophe’ facing Europe because of higher birth rates among Muslim immigrants were seized on by the BNP.
‘You have betrayed democracy’