Maxine Peake, hasn’t peaked. Slagging off JKR

It’s an industry that’s difficult to break into and stay successful in, and networking and being liked/easy to get on with is at least as important to it as talent. It was also an industry where gay people could be themselves long before it was okay for them to be out officially.

So I think a lot of actors have just fallen into supporting trans rights as the next gay rights/just a bit of acceptable gender non-conformity/“I heard that nasty JKR is transphobic” bit of group think. I can almost guarantee MP has never stopped to think any of this through very hard, and why should she? Her paycheques benefit from just going with the flow. I mean, look at what happened to Glinner! That’s let them all know what happens if you think too hard.

How disappointing to see another actress captured by trans ideology. I wonder if she’d be happy to see the roles that she dieted for given to a TW?

I liked her when she was large and playing Twinkle in Dinnerladies. The south bank show actually followed her in her first year at drama school (RADA) so she was marked for fame for a long time. I remember her saying she made a conscious decision to lose a large amount of weight to get better roles.

Maxine may have what they call suicidal empathy. She’s also an actress, living in a land of make believe. Why she doesn’t prioritise the safety of her own sex is beyond me but that’s Be Kind for you.

Aah no... I went off MP a while ago. To me she's like Jane Horrocks with the deliberate northerness (I am from a deprived northern background, but I lost my strong northern accent as I moved around the UK)

I love Kathy Burke though - ever since I saw her in Scrubbers and more so after she publicly called out Helena Bonham Carter when HBC moaned that "if you're not pretty and are working class you have an easier time in terms of people's attitudes towards you" (KB took to the letters page in Time Out - calling HBC a stupid cnut). A bit gutted that she's been captured too 🙁

It seems to be a luvvie thing

#sadtimes

I find it peculiar, given that she is playing MW, that she seems to have completely missed the recent reappraisals of MW. Particularly in relation to the explosion of online porn. Not convinced it’ll be a very thoughtful performance.

Not read the article but just listened to her interview on Front Row. She doesn't talk about JKR much in that, it's mostly Mary Whitehouse which is fascinating to listen to.

But the really interesting thing she says is the last words of the interview: "people think they're good but they're still peddling oppression." How is it possible for her to believe this about others but not herself? Or for her to judge Mary Whitehouse as inflexible but not herself?

Oh I didn't know she did tax avoidance. What was it?

It would never happen in the context of the kind of soft, arty promo interviews celebs like her and Tennant do. But I would love it if, for once, the questions got hardline.

‘Do you believe rape victims are wrong if they want single sex support?’

’is it right for biological males to run rape support services, in a role that was meant to be reserved for a woman? What if that man goes on to speculate whether women orgasm during rape - is that ok?’

‘Is JKR wrong to be personally funding female only rape support services?’ Etc

I’m sure they’d all avoid the questions, say it’s complicated or walk out. But it’d be good to see them held to account for their harmful nonsense for once.

Just another lovey scared of being expelled from the ingroup, spineless.

I’ve met her, she was lovely and I do agree with her on some things, she’s stood up for legal aid lawyers in the past which as one I appreciate because not a lot of people do that.

Disappointed by this though. It’s the lack of thought or articulation that irritates me from someone who presents as political and interested in peoples rights. Agree with previous poster, really really wish interviewer would say oh that’s interesting what is it that JKR has actually said that you disagree with? (with copy of essay or her tweets in response to Chris Columbus to hand so there isn’t some generic rubbish response along the lines of “oh she stirs up hatred/she thinks trans people shouldn’t exist/she’s not kiiiinnd”)

@LittleBitofBread I didn't know she said that, or about the tax avoidance.
How's not paying your taxes helping the only class who (she's says) lives in the north Maxine?

She didn't seem to have much to say in amongst all those 'y'knows'
It never ceases to amaze me how many (intelligent) women can argue quite so vociferously against womens' rights.
The world won't explode if you stand up for women.
I long for some interviewer to have a printout (laminated due to frequent use) of JKR's 'speech' to show these people

As others have said, she's been very tiresome and 'be kind' on this topic for ages. She's an amazing actress, but what a disappointment

She's doing interviews about the Mary Whitehouse play she's currently starring in. Making controversial comparisons to JKR is probably disingenuous and just being done to draw attention for self-marketing purposes. She's accusing JKR of ignorance but I doubt she's looked into this in much depth at all, or cares to.

I am surprised by this as she must be, or have been, close to James Dreyfus

I searched for information on tax dodging but didn't find any. Do you have links?

What articulate arguments she makes about the subject, she's obviously given it some serious thought.

(Sarcasm alert!)

As a working class northerner made good, I hate this too. There’s an implication that aspiring to improve your lot in life, or being interested in eg literature, education and arts is somehow above the working class, I find it an insulting and belittling take.
Also, Blur were loads better than Oasis, I can hold that opinion without surrendering my northern passport.

Shame as I love her work. Another one whose politics come in a job lot I'm afraid.

She's from the same cloth as Kathy Burke who is also TWAW why can't you be kind??? - professional working class representative in the arts

Really talented actress, questionable judgement. I’m also sick of this new, minimising, ‘culture war’ slogan to describe the biggest attack on women’s rights since we got them. It’s not
bloody Blur vs Oasis. And from a woman as well. Tiresome and disappointing.

I went off her a long time ago. Got sick of her professional-northerner schtick. And her comment that there's only one class in the north, working class, royally pissed off friends of mine from the north of England who happen to have been born in different classes but are still very definitely proud and fond northerners.
Doesn't she use tax avoidance techniques as well? Strikes me as a bit hypocritical given her 'Come the revolution' image.

The audacity of her to accuse JKR of not understanding. No, Maxine, it’s you who doesn’t have a fucking clue.

Good actress. Never refuses to jump on an omnicause bandwagon.