Coronation Street‘s Dame Maureen Lipman has responded after actor Gerard McCarthy pulled out of a London play over her involvement. McCarthy withdrew from next week’s performances of Right Before I Go at the Soho Theatre on the grounds that they did not “feel comfortable personally promoting [Lipman’s] involvement”.
The star, whose screen credits include Call The Midwife, The Fall and the Kenneth Branagh film Belfast, explained on Instagram that their decision was due to “views [Lipman] has publicly & repeatedly expressed regarding Israel and Palestine”, adding that they “did not ask for her casting to be reconsidered or expect anybody else to share my position”.
“I simply chose not to use my own platform to promote someone whose political views are at odds with my own,” McCarthy added. McCarthy had previously been involved with the show, which “highlights the raw struggles and lives of people impacted by suicide”, for its run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
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Now, Lipman has responded via The Telegraph and addressed McCarthy. “I challenge you to meet me in an Ottolenghi branch of your choice for a hummus and mint tea. We can swap certainties about the world,” she wrote.
“But I also want you to explain your rejection of the things which make our business viable and comradely. Why are you refusing to work with an 80-year-old, experienced actress (allegedly I’m a national treasure) for the benefit of young people who are struggling to find the strength and courage to go on living?
“We are in a business which is all about diversity. If we spit on art, we are being fascistic.”
Later in the piece, she added: “I will not be bullied, nor will I allow anybody to tell me what to think.
“If that affects their ability to work with me, as opposed to convert me to their point of view, then they are lily livered.”
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Related: Coronation Street’s Dame Maureen Lipman reveals demand she made over show comeback
Recalling how she regrets previously refusing to appear alongside Margaret Thatcher at an event because of their political differences, she said: “So I confidently predict that Mr McCarthy will one day be appalled about his decision to pull out of Right Before I Go.”
According to The Independent, in 2023, Lipman said artists should feel “shame” for their support of Palestinians in Gaza, after 2,000 people (including Tilda Swinton, Steve Coogan and Miriam Margolyes) signed an Artists for Palestine UK petition calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian support in the region.
Earlier this year, amid a rise in violent anti-Semitic attacks in the UK, Lipman called for a ban on pro-Palestine marches in London, according to LBC.
Shaun is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, with over a decade of experience reporting on all things pop culture. He has written for outlets including Metro, Attitude, Huffington Post, The Mirror, Yahoo!, Pink News and Express Online, specialising in TV, movies, soaps, music and LGBTQ+ issues. He is also a BAFTA Rocliffe-winning scriptwriter, having written episodes of the soap Hollyoaks, the official Steps musical Here & Now and multiple Offie Award-nominated plays. He studied English Literature and Drama at the University of East Anglia, and will happily talk at length about Desperate Housewives to anyone who’ll listen.