Joanna Lumley is something of a national treasure. As well as playing one half of the terrible twosome, Edina and Patsy, in Absolutely Fabulous, she has recently graced our screens as an avid adventurer in Joanna Lumley’s Japan, and shared her passion and love for Elvis Presley in the documentary about his life, Elvis And Me.
But now, Joanna has rustled feathers by claiming that women should be ‘complimented’ if a man wolf whistles her, and has stated that females are too ‘sensitive’.
The actress and campaigner, who has raised awareness for a plethora of causes during her time in the media spotlight, spoke to The Mirror about modern women and admitted that she felt these ladies shouldn’t be insulted by wolf whistles, they should be flattered.
“How can wolf whistling be offensive to women? It’s a compliment,” she told the paper.
“They’re saying ‘Cor you look alright, darlin’ … What’s wrong with that?”
Joanna, 70, declared that women weren’t as tough these days, referring to them as “sensitive flowers” and confessed that back in the 60s when she was modelling she faced much harsher criticism and “got on with it”.
The actress was responding to comments about casual sexism and the pet names that women dislike their partners calling them.
“People are very offended by everything … when I was modelling photographers were much ruder, they’d say ‘you look frightful, what’s the matter with you? You look podgy, you look fat as a pig!’”
Joanna recently hit the big screen alongside friend and co-star, Jennifer Saunders, when their long-standing TV comedy Absolutely Fabulous was made into a movie.
She also confessed that she would love to make a sequel to the film, which was a box office success, if people wanted it.
What do you think of Joanna’s comments? Do you agree that women need to be tougher, or not? Let us know via Facebook or Twitter (@CloserOnline)
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