Emily Blunt is getting ahead of a potential scandal by telling People magazine she is “appalled” about a September 2012 appearance on the UK’s “Jonathan Ross Show” in which she called a waiter “enormous.” The actor was promoting her role in Rian Johnson’s “Looper” at the time. A clip of Blunt calling the waiter “enormous” must’ve begun circulating online, as the actor issued a statement to People in which she apologized for her language.
“If you go to Chili’s you can see why so many of our American friends are enormous,” Blunt told Ross during the interview. “Well the girl who was serving me was enormous.”
“I just need to address this head-on as my jaw was on the floor watching this clip from 12 years ago,” Blunt said Friday in a statement exclusive to People. “I’m appalled that I would say something so insensitive, hurtful and unrelated to whatever story I was trying to tell on a talk show.”
Blunt continued, “I’ve always considered myself someone who wouldn’t dream of upsetting anyone so whatever possessed me to say anything like this in that moment is unrecognizable to me or anything I stand for. And yet it happened, and I said it and I’m so sorry for any hurt caused. I was absolutely old enough to know better.”
Blunt had a supporting role in “Looper” opposite headliners Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. While she’s currently on strike as a member of SAG-AFTRA, she’ll most likely hit the awards season campaign trail hard when a contract is reached to promote her performance in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” Blunt is in the running for her first Oscar nomination. Her performance as Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer, the wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer, is being campaigned for best supporting actress.
According to People, Blunt’s comments to Ross were made on the Sept. 22, 2012 episode of his talk show. Other guests on that episode included English comedian John Bishop, the late “Harry Potter” actor Michael Gambon and music producers David Guetta and Jack Antonoff.