Things got painfully awkward on an episode of This Morning, courtesy of actress and Harry Potter star Miriam Margolyes.
The Oxford-born actress, 85, made strange comments about the race and skin color of presenter Andi Peters, who was hosting the show with Christine Lampard.
Viewers were appalled by her statements, saying “she’s a vile human being” and an “awful woman.”
“She’s a daft racist,” the internet said after Miriam Margolyes’ latest comments on This Morning
Miriam Margolyes once again proved that she can’t keep her thoughts to herself.
The acclaimed British-Australian actress, who played Professor Pomona Sprout in the Harry Potter film franchise, appeared on a September 3 episode of This Morning to promote her new book Miriam’s Full English.
The BAFTA Award winner was chatting with hosts Andi Peters and Christine Lampard about her book when the conversation shifted towards accents.
“What accent would be normal for you?” Margolyes unabashedly asked Peters, who was born in London and raised in Shropshire in Western England.
“What are you?” she then asked.
As Peters tried to say that he was speaking in his “normal” accent, Margolyes seemed convinced he was “a mix.”
The BAFTA Award winner was baffled to learn that both of Andi Peters’ parents were Black
“You’ve got a Black daddy and a white mummy,” she said.
A baffled Peters then clarified that both his parents were Black
“Oh, both parents are black?” she said with a hint of shock at the revelation.
“I think you’re High yella… that’s what they call it in America when someone isn’t deeply black,” she said.
“High yellow,” also written as “high yella,” is considered a dated and offensive American racial term, used within some communities to describe a light-skinned Black person.
Possibly unsure how to respond, Peters pointed at his earpiece to indicate that the producers were getting uncomfortable.
“They’re getting nervous, they’re getting nervous,” he said.
“Don’t be nervous,” the actress replied. “We welcome everybody.”
The show reportedly cut out the remarks when the videos were shared online.
“She’s a complete lunatic. Why does anyone give her the time of day?” read one comment online
Her comments sparked immense backlash online, with one saying, “she’s a daft racist.”
“I think she’s the only celebrity who’s ever told an anecdote that made me feel physically sick,” one said.
Another wrote, “She’s seen as some sort of national treasure but I think she’s a foul-mouthed overrated actress.”
“Miriam showing her utterly vile true colours (no pun intended),” said another. “Let’s hope she’s now made herself too explosive to be worthy of airtime so we can at last move on and find another, more worthy ‘national treasure.’”
While chatting on This Morning, Margolyes shared her thoughts on the upcoming reboot of Harry Potter, premiering this Christmas on HBO Max. A brand new trailer for the series was released this week.
“Miriam, it’s been 25 years since you played Professor Sprout [in the film], are you excited about the remake?” Peters asked Margolyes on the show.
Margolyes said she was in the “OG” Harry Potter movies and wasn’t really excited about upcoming series
“Not really, to be honest,” the Age of Innocence actor simply said. “I mean, I wish them well, I hope it goes well indeed. But, we were better, that’s all I can say.”
Margolyes, who said she was in the “OG” movies, played the character of the Herbology professor Pomona Sprout.
In the second film Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, she appeared in the iconic scene where she taught Harry Potter and his classmates how to re-pot mandrakes, which shriek like crying human babies.
She was also seen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 in 2011.
While talking about the upcoming series based on the original books, she said: “It’s a different era, but it’s a great story, and the kids will enjoy it, that’s what it’s about. But, I want them to read, not just look at screens.”
On a previous occasion, Margolyes riled up the Harry Potter fanbase by claiming they need to “f***ing grow up.”
“I worry about Harry Potter fans because they should be over that by now,” she told New Zealand journalist Hilary Barry for 1 News in 2024.
Margolyes left Harry Potter fans outraged when she previously said they needed to “f***ing grow up”
The actress said the books and movies were made for children and came out decades ago.
But fans “get stuck in it.”
“I do cameos, and people say, ‘Oh, I’m having a Harry Potter-themed wedding,’ and I think, gosh, what’s their first night of fun going to be?” she added.
Outraged fans claimed there was no age limit to being a fan of the magical wizarding world, created by controversial author J.K. Rowling.
“A little out of touch. She forgets that we grew up with Harry. Many of us around his age when the books were published,” one said at the time.
“I’m 58 and just finished building a Harry Potter Lego tonight and currently debating which one I want next. Probably The Sorting Hat,” another wrote.
The same year, Margolyes candidly spoke about her struggles with spinal stenosis, which occurs when the space inside the spine is too small.
The condition can lead to pressure being placed on the spinal cord and nerves, possibly causing pain, tingling, numbing and muscle weakness.
Margolyes said she will probably lose herself “within the next five or six years, if not before.”
“I can’t walk very well, and I’m registered disabled,” she told Closer Magazine in 2024.
“I use all kinds of assistance,” she added. “I’ve got two sticks and a walker and they’re such a bore, but I’ve just got a mobility scooter, which is a lot of fun.”
“She is and always has been a vile individual,” one commented
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