British Justice Minister Edward Faulks has been forced to backtrack on his comments made about human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.
Three days ago, he told The Daily Mail ‘I’m sure she gets such high-profile cases and everyone wants her because she’s married to George Clooney; and by employing her they’ll give publicity to their case.’
He compared Clooney's 'meteoric rise to fame' to Cherie Blair, wife of former Prime Minister Tony Blair: ‘I mean, look at Cherie Blair: being married to Tony Blair didn’t do her career any harm.’
He also had some criticism for Clooney's accent. ‘I heard her speak after the court case defending the journalists who were convicted in Egypt and, if I’d have closed my eyes, I’d have never placed her because she has this new-age media trendy accent,’ Lord Faulks said. ‘I can tell you, they weren’t like that when I was a barrister.’
Amal Clooney is fluent in English, Arabic and French, and holds degrees from NY University School of Law and Oxford University.
Faulks' comments were met with accusations of jealousy and misogny online:
Edward Faulks has absolutely no idea what he's on about. Let's forget her illustrious pre-marital career, shall we? http://t.co/9Lp6bQhlE1
— Stephanie ⭐️ (@stephanie_hall) September 14, 2015#EdwardFaulks is yet another misogynist who needs to shut up. Amal's work has always been exemplary, she didn't need a husband to get cases.
— Dee (@abydosww) September 14, 2015course a woman cant be successful without a husband pulling all the strings for her, no way shed be able to earn it herself #EdwardFaulks
— Emma (@EmmaMacD109) September 15, 2015
In a statement to BuzzFeed, the Tory minister said: "I apologise to Amal Clooney for any offence, distress, or inconvenience caused by my comments. "I never intended to imply that her considerable success, nor the esteem in which she is held by the legal profession, is due to her marriage. "I regret the fact that my comments have been interpreted in this way and am very happy to set the record straight."
