Game of Thrones star Kit Harington has slammed the government’s suggestion to retrain, branding the idea ‘offensive’.
Earlier this month, Rishi Sunak was criticised when, during an interview about the effect of the pandemic on people working in the arts, he spoke about the need to ‘adapt’ and suggested there would be ‘fresh and new opportunities’ available for those who could not do their old jobs.
The Chancellor later denied he was suggesting people in the struggling creative industries should retrain and find other jobs after coronavirus left them unable to work.
However, for many, including Kit, it seemed indicative of what they see as an unsympathetic attitude from the government towards the arts.
‘I don’t know what the Chancellor said or didn’t say, but I think the suggestion that people should just retrain is quite offensive,’ Kit told Peston on Wednesday night.
‘It suggests that our jobs in the arts are just sort of hobbies that we can let go of on a whim.
‘I think that what we do, and this country has a rich history of theatre and the arts, and I think it’s one of our greatest exports, and I think it needs to be valued as such.
‘It brings a lot of money into this country, just on a purely economic basis, so the idea of retraining is a silly one, I think.’
Kit isn’t the only star to have expressed anger towards Mr Sunak’s comments about ‘adapting’ their jobs.
Liam Gallagher responded to the comments, tweeting: ‘So the dopes in gov telling musicians and people in arts to retrain and get another job what and become massive c**ts like you nah yer alright c’mon you know LG x’.
He added: ‘This country would be beyond w**k if it wasn’t for the arts and the music and football show a bit of respect you little TURD cmon you know LG x’ and ‘If anyone needs to retrain it’s them shower of C**TZ c’mon you know LG x’.
Peston airs weekdays at 10.45pm on ITV.
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