Derry Girls star praised for pointing out “misogynistic” question on talk show

"Don’t cross a Derry Girl, Tubs!"

Late Late Show viewers have been praising actress Jamie Lee O'Donnell for calling out a sexist question live on air. Jamie Lee is known for her iconic role as the fiesty teenager Michelle in Derry Girls and appeared on the talk show to chat about the final series of the comedy - which aired earlier this week. However, when host Ryan Tubridy asked the star about her age, she was quick to let him know how she felt about that particular question. https://twitter.com/DublinNewsLive/status/1515238055246020610 Ryan asked her: "This might be a rude question, you don't have to answer - but can I ask you how old you are?" "I'm 117. I'm very, very wise," she replied sarcastically. But Ryan didn't back down and continued to press her: "Would you consider telling me what age you are?" "This is the thing about it, that gets on my nerves a wee bit, no disrespect," she said. "It's always quite misogynistic even if it's unintentionally because men don't get the same scrutiny in their career." Ryan responded by saying he would have asked a male actor the same question if he was playing a teenager on-screen. "You say that now but there's nobody here to take your word for it," Jamie-Lee quipped.

Ryan then explained himself, saying that he did not mean to cause any offence, with Jamie-Lee assuring him she knew it wasn't intentional. "I would say that you've got these great characters playing teenagers, that's what I was getting at - the fact that you're of a certain age that play teenagers and do it so well," he said. "Actually there was a compliment coming there... please don't misunderstand. I'm done with that question, I'm going to move on. I can read a mood when I see it." Viewers couldn't get enough of the interaction and took to Twitter to share their reactions. https://twitter.com/McToTheFuture/status/1515074960158507015 "Ryan Tubridy seeing his life flash before his eyes after Jamie Lee O'Donnell pointed out the age question is misogynistic," one person joked. "Jamie-Lee is a powerhouse. She's absolutely incredible in Derry Girls! Poor Ryan wasn't ready for her!" another person said. "Don’t cross a Derry Girl Tubs, fair play Jamie-Lee!" a third added.