Latest news with #DarylMcCormack
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Left-wingers who defend ‘sex work' are virtue-signalling hypocrites
For a good few years now, 'sex-positive' Left-wing activists have been vigorously attempting to 'destigmatise' prostitution – or, to use their preferred euphemism, 'sex work' – by arguing that it's a perfectly normal and legitimate form of employment. Indeed, they insist, it's really no different from any other job. Hence their noble mantra, 'Sex work is work.' They will doubtless have been delighted, therefore, to read the comments this week from Dame Emma Thompson, the impeccably progressive actress. During an audience Q&A in London the other evening, Dame Emma reflected on Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, the 2022 film in which she played a sexually repressed middle-aged woman who hires a young gigolo, played by Daryl McCormack. Mr McCormack, she recalled, had researched his role by interviewing numerous prostitutes. 'And the thing he learnt most,' said Dame Emma, 'was they were just like accountants. Sex workers are doing a job.' This sort of talk is of course wonderfully enlightened and well-meaning. Even so, I'm afraid that I'm not entirely convinced by it. Because if, as Left-wingers tirelessly claim, 'sex work' is just another job, no less worthy than any other, would they be happy to see it promoted by careers advisers in their daughters' schools? 'Good morning, Jacintha, do take a seat. I was so sorry to see that you didn't get the A-level results you needed for that degree in accountancy. But don't despair, because I have an alternative career path to suggest. The hours are long and demanding, it requires a wide range of people skills, and the work is very much 'hands-on'. But it can be extremely well-paid, and I think it would suit you down to the ground…' Such a scenario may sound a touch improbable. But don't rule it out. A lot of schools these days seem to be on-board with the 'sex-positive' ethos, too. On Monday the Conservative peer Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne wrote to Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, complaining that sex education has become far too explicit. Schoolchildren as young as 10, she went on in disgust, should not be 'exposed to concepts like [...] rainbow kisses'. (If you aren't familiar with this term, please don't google it, or it'll ruin your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every other meal for the next fortnight.)
Telegraph
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Emma Thompson: Sex should be recommended by the NHS
It comes amid a rise in Hollywood plots exploring the lives of sex workers, including the Oscar-winning film Anora about a young escort who achieves what she believes is a fairytale when she marries the son of a Russian oligarch. Dame Emma's character in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, by contrast, is a widow who wants to experience a sexual awakening. Her character never experienced an orgasm, something that the actress admitted is 'notoriously difficult' for women. Discussing the topic at the screening, she described the female orgasm as 'a beautiful, healthy expansion of your body in a moment of time'. Dame Emma added: 'It's very good to be able to give yourself an orgasm when you need one. And for women, it is notoriously difficult. 'In fact, the stats are quite alarming. It really is much harder than you think. One of the things that really surprised me when the film came out was the number of young women who told me they'd never had an orgasm.' Sex work 'very complicated' The Sense and Sensibility actress also acknowledged her 'very complicated views about sex work', but said that Daryl McCormack, her co-star in the 2022 film, had spoken to a host of sex workers ahead of the role. She said they taught the 32-year-old actor that their profession is just work for them, saying they are 'just like accountants – sex workers are doing a job'. Mikey Madison, the breakout star of Anora, also acknowledged the sex worker community in her Oscars acceptance speech for best actress. The 26-year-old, who consulted sex workers for her role, said: 'I also just want to again recognise and honour the sex worker community. 'I will continue to support and be an ally. All of the incredible people, the women I've had the privilege of meeting from that community has [sic] been one of the highlights of this entire incredible experience.' Dame Emma, who is president of the Helen Bamber Foundation, which supports survivors of human trafficking, said: 'Sex workers are a little more vocal now and very strong on what they think needs to happen – and they're the people we need to listen to.'
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Dame Emma Thompson, 66, declares sex should be recommended by the NHS as she reveals her friends have started to hire escorts
Dame Emma Thompson has said sex should be recommended by the NHS because it is so important to our health and wellbeing. The Oscar-winning actress, 66, made the comments during a live Q&A at a screening of her film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande at The Kiln Theatre in North West London, where she opened up about the surprising response to her role as a widowed, retired teacher who hires a male escort to help her explore her sexuality. 'We need to learn about our own response to: what if when you're unwell, you can't make connections, but you need sex?' Emma said. 'You need sex because it's part of our health plan, if you like. It should really be on the NHS. It should. It's so good for you.' The Love Actually star, who performed nude scenes with actor Daryl McCormack, 32, in Leo Grande, spoke candidly about how the 2022 film had impacted women of her generation - and even inspired them to take matters into their own hands. 'Since the film came out, quite a number of older friends of mine have done that - they've hired escorts,' she revealed. The actress, 66, made the comments during a live Q&A at a screening of her film Good Luck to You, Leo Grande where she opened up about the surprising response to her role as a widowed, retired teacher who hires a male escort (pictured in the film with Daryl McCormack) Emma, who has campaigned against human trafficking in partnership with UN initiatives, also spoke in support of de-stigmatising sex work, arguing that it should be recognised as a legitimate profession, rather than a taboo subject. 'Daryl spoke to a lot of sex workers,' she explained. 'And the thing he learned most was they were just like accountants. Sex workers are doing a job. 'He made this discovery also about the way in which it's viewed. Katy [Brand, the film's writer] had come from a country in which it is legal; I come from a background where I've worked with a lot of people who have been trafficked, so I have very complicated views about sex work. 'I understand that there are lots of different angles that you can come at it. For instance, in Sweden now, men who buy sex are criminalised. Sex workers aren't criminalised, the buyer is. 'People have views about that. We used to have a trafficking unit in this country - we don't have it anymore, it was absorbed into the vice squad [police units dealing with sex work, trafficking and drugs]. 'Sex work and trafficking are two very different things but they're often conflated and it's not understood partly because it's not documented. So no one knows about men who buy sex because it's hidden.' In the UK, prostitution itself is legal, meaning that buying and selling sexual services is permitted between consenting adults. However, many related activities are illegal, such as soliciting in public places, running a brothel, or pimping. 'Sex workers are a little more vocal now and very strong on what they think needs to happen and they're the people we need to listen to,' Emma added. The actress also said she hoped Leo Grande could be a 'springboard' for wider discussions about the role of sex in emotional and physical health. 'It's very good to be able to give yourself an orgasm when you need one. And for women, it is notoriously difficult. In fact, the stats are quite alarming. It really is much harder than you think,' she said. 'One of the things that really surprised me when the film came out was the number of young women who told me they'd never had an orgasm.' She took aim at the way society pressures women to perform sexually - and sees pleasure as something to be 'achieved'. 'This whole thing of performing and saying it has to be this, and Cosmopolitan saying: "how to have the greatest orgasm" - endlessly getting at us about this goddamn thing that we're supposed to achieve. You even use the phrase "achieve orgasm". 'Why do we do that? That's such a stupid verb. An orgasm is not an achievement. It's a beautiful, healthy expansion of your body in a moment of time.' Quoting a line from the film, she added: 'As Leo says, it's not a Faberge Egg - but it is as beautiful and delicate as that.'
