Emily Blunt Is "Appalled" By Her "Hurtful" Comment From 2012

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A break from acting doesn’t guarantee a break from public scrutiny. Though Emily Blunt put her acting career on temporary hiatus this year, she found herself facing backlash after a clip from a decade-old interview recently resurfaced. The Pain Hustlers star got called out for describing a restaurant server as “enormous” while sharing a story on The Jonathan Ross show in 2012, and she’s since issued an apology.

Blunt was promoting her sci-fi action-thriller Looper when she went on Ross’ show. The two were discussing how she learned a Kansas accent for her role when Blunt ended up telling a story about going to a Chili’s restaurant in “this really remote little town” where they filmed, Thibodaux, Louisiana. It was then that Ross jumped in to quip, “If you go to Chili’s you can see why so many of our American friends are enormous.” Blunt laughed and said, “Well, the girl who served me was enormous. You know, I think she got freebie meals at Chili’s.”

“Old Enough To Know Better”

Watching it back amid the controversy, Blunt shared her disappointment in herself. “I just need to address this head on as my jaw was on the floor watching this clip from 12-years ago,” she told People in a statement. “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.”

— Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesBlunt went on to share that the comment didn’t align with her values. “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,” she said. “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.”

That’s Not Relevant

As Blunt pointed out in her apology, the server’s size wasn’t actually related to her story. The anecdote was supposed to be about learning her Looper accent and filming in rural America, not the server’s build. She recalled to Ross at the time that the server asked her, “Did anyone ever tell you you look a lot like Emily Blunt?” When she said yes, the woman followed up by asking her if she was Emily Blunt. Another yes from her prompted the woman to exclaim, “What are y’all doing here?”

Blunt’s harsh comment in her story surprised many fans, who, like her, felt it was out of character. After all, the Oppenheim star has spoken out about the criticism women often face in different areas of their lives. “There’s so much judgment with women,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2016, speaking about her Girl on the Train character.

Having owned up to the inappropriate remark, Blunt has a chance to move on and do better. Next up for her is Netflix’s Pain Hustlers, due out Oct. 27.