Dame Sheila Hancock has declared she is not afraid of cancel culture, and she has explained why.
The 90-year-old Edie actress has already spoken out on cancel culture, and she has now stated that, despite her grandchildren’s warnings, she has nothing to worry.
Chatting to Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain, Dame Sheila said she has ‘got to be able to express opinions’.
Susanna began: ‘Nervousness about expressing an opinion, I know that’s shared by a lot of people, but I would have thought that by the time you’re 90, you might just say, you know what, just say what you like.’
‘I’ve always been a bit like that,’ Dame Sheila replied.
She continued: ‘What I say to my grandchildren is, “I don’t give a damn what gender people are, it is honestly irrelevant whether they’re trans or whatever, I will address them whatever they like, but I’ve got to be able to express opinions.”
‘And they say, “Oh Nana, you can’t say that, you’ll be cancelled.”
‘Quite honestly, when you get to 90, you’re going to be cancelled by life.’
As Richard laughed at the morbid joke, she added: ‘You might as well risk it!’
This comes after Dame Sheila stated that she does not wish to be a “national treasure.”
She wrote for The Daily Mail: ‘I confess that nowadays I am sometimes nervous of expressing an opinion. (Not often! I hear you shout.) Because of the threat of being “cancelled”. That word sounds so terrifying. Erased from life.
‘My grandchildren are constantly telling me “You can’t say that, Nana” or “You can’t use that word.” It seems to matter more that I say the right words, than that I say what I feel.
‘I know words can hurt so I will do my best to use the right terms so that I don’t upset people, but I must be free to speak, challenge, and disagree.’
Dame Sheila continued: ‘I don’t want to be a guru, or an inspiration, or a national treasure. I get nervous when people take me too seriously. Wisdom, in my case, has not come with age. I change my mind all the time.’
She added: ‘I am not to be trusted. Especially now.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1.
