‘By the way, what are you? You’re kind of brown’: Blunt Miriam Margolyes leaves Australian talk show host speechless during Israel-Gaza ceasefire debate

Miriam Margolyes left an Australian talk show host speechless today after he pointedly asked her “what do you do anyway?” as the two men discussed the war between Israel and Palestine.

Waleed Aly, host of Australian Channel 10 current affairs show The Project, found himself momentarily at a loss for words during today’s episode when the British-Australian actress derailed a discussion on Gaza with this unexpected question.

Margolyes, who is Jewish, emphatically called for an immediate ceasefire – a statement that seemed to resonate with the studio audience.

“Ceasefire now,” she demanded. “Whether you’re black or white, it doesn’t matter. »

She then turned to Aly and asked bluntly, “By the way, what are you doing?” You are rather brown!

Aly looked visibly surprised, but a few moments later he lowered his head and laughed.

“Actually, that’s a really interesting question,” he replied. “I thought about it a lot. I’m not kidding about that…I’m Egyptian.

“Oh really,” Margolyes replied, prompting laughter from the audience.

“I love the Egyptian people. I am on the side of the Palestinians,” she said.

“I have to tell you now. Being Jewish, we must always say what we are. Are we for Israel or are we against Israel. I am only for humanity,” she added, before repeating: “Ceasefire.”

Aly is a veteran journalist known for leading deep and often complex conversations, and earned a doctorate in research on global terrorism.

Both his parents are Egyptian but he was born and raised in Australia.

The veteran presenter lightheartedly acknowledged the unexpected turn after being caught off guard.

“Well, I think it’s safe to say that the conversation didn’t go as planned!” » he told a laughing audience.

Margolyes, never one to mince words, simply retorted with his characteristic frankness: “It doesn’t matter. It is important!’

Her appearance on the Channel 10 show was well received, with viewers taking to social media to praise her humor and calling for her to return to the show.

Margolyes, 82, has been a familiar face in film and television for decades, including roles in the Harry Potter films and Blackadder, playing Cadbury’s Caramel Rabbit, winning a Bafta for her role in Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence and The Real Marigold Hotel series. .

She has a reputation for swearing, sometimes on air, such as when she dropped an f-bomb on Radio 4’s Today program in reference to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

In another outburst, the actress called Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio “smelly” and then swore while apologizing for the mistake on ITV’s This Morning.