Lee Pace forced to apologise as he’s called out for ‘derogatory’ woman comment
Lee Pace in Practical Magic 2 (Warner Bros)
Lee Pace was criticised online after suggesting a woman’s “power” comes from her ability to cook, prompting host Craig Melvin to challenge the remark on air.
The 47-year-old actor appeared on the programme on 10 September to discuss Practical Magic 2 with Melvin, also 47.
During the conversation, queer actor Pace said: “This movie, it’s a movie about witches and it’s given me the opportunity to think about… I guess if you remove the word ‘witch’ from it, you think about powerful women,” before adding: “You know, a woman who can cook you an incredible meal. You think, ‘God, it’s chicken and lemon, but why does it taste like that? Is that some kind of magic power or…?’”
Melvin cut in: “Yeah, a lot of women, though, who heard you say that, the first superpower you mentioned was cooking,” then added: “I just wanted to give you the chance to amend the record.”
Pace, who is married to Matthew Foley, accepted the point, replying: “You called me out for that, so thank you for that. Don’t let me off the hook on that one, please, please.” He went on to say there were “lots of different powers that you can have”.
Pace also joked during the segment: “Well, we don’t want to talk about evil witches because there’s a lot of people watching and we don’t want to get an evil eye pointed at me.”
Viewer reaction
The exchange triggered a mixed reaction on social media. Viewers criticised the stereotypical gendered nature of Pace’s views, while others suggested he was just clumsy with his words.
Reacting, one said: “Thank you for calling out the derogatory ‘women cooking’ comment Craig! I heard him say that and I about dropped my hand weight!”
One, defending him, said: “Lee doesn’t need to be schooled about gender roles and stereotypes. He really doesn’t. Look at his body of work (from Soldier’s Girl to Angels In America) and at his life. Case closed.”
Another said: “Witches brew stuff up though in potions, surely cooking is the closest real life thing to that. That’s all I think he meant – brewing a potion is cooking.”
Lee Pace in Practical Magic 2
Practical Magic 2 is set 25 years after the original film and is adapted from Alice Hoffman’s 2021 sequel story The Book of Magic.
Sandra Bullock reprises her role as Sally Owens alongside Nicole Kidman as her sister Gillian, with Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest also returning.
Pace plays Ian Wright, the love interest of Bullock’s character Sally who appears to be hiding some secrets.
However while she appeared in the original as a child, Evan Rachel Wood has been recast, with Joey King taking over her role. Maisie Williams also joined the cast.
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