‘The Crown’ Emmy Winner Gillian Anderson Endured An Awkward Moment While Being Asked If She’d Consulted With The Late Margaret Thatcher

After locking down an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Margaret Thatcher on The Crown, Gillian Anderson fielded an awkward question about the British prime minister. The inquiry came from a reporter at American Urban Radio Networks, who mainly focused on why the U.S. has been so slow to have a “female leader.” However, in the lead-up, the reporter missed a key fact about Thatcher:

“Congratulations, I love you on this show. So just to kind of continue with the whole Margaret Thatcher thing, first question is if you’ve talked to her about this role at all, and secondly, why do you think it has taken America so long to get a female leader”

Here’s the thing, Thatcher died in 2013, long before Anderson was even cast for The Crown or the show even existed. But instead of correcting the reporter, Anderson graciously answered the question without drawing attention to the issue.

“I have not spoken to Margaret,” Anderson simply said without mentioning that Thatcher died eight years ago. She also mentioned that the UK had another female prime minister Theresa May from 2016 to 2019 to look to for inspiration. As for America falling behind in female leaders, Anderson sees progress. “Maybe Kamala Harris at some point,” she said. “Maybe Kamala Harris. Maybe that’s the next step.”