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Dame Maureen Lipman has branded her former West End co-star as “cowardly” for dropping out of the play over her pro-Israel views.
Lipman is appearing in Right Before I Go at London’s Soho Theatre later this month, with Call the Midwife actor Gerard McCarthy also cast.
However, McCarthy – who identifies as non-binary and uses both they/them and he/him pronouns – withdrew from their role last month, writing on Instagram that they “did not feel comfortable” promoting Lipman’s involvement in the show given her views on Israel and Palestine, which “she has publicly and repeatedly expressed”.
Now Lipman, who previously said that actors’ protests against Israel are “close to fascism”, has responded to McCarthy’s exit from the play, saying that McCarthy should have “the courage to face me and tell me what he thinks it is I should do”.
Maureen Lipman called her former co-star a ‘coward’ (Getty)
Describing McCarthy’s actions as “virtue-signalling”, the actor told The Times: “I would like to reassure him that I will not be arriving with a star of David on my forehead, nor am I trying to argue him out of his point of view.
“He has to wake up and smell the grass. I have worked with actors for 60 years who often don’t share my politics. I don’t ask them, and they don’t ask me.”
She added that if McCarthy didn’t want to work with her, “then fair enough”, but if they won’t meet up with her, “then he’s a coward”.
“And if he doesn’t grow up, then he’s going to limit himself to working with just Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem for the rest of his career,” she continued.
The Independent has contacted McCarthy for comment.
Taking to Instagram on Saturday (29 August), McCarthy said that after Lipman was cast, they privately explained that they “did not feel comfortable personally promoting” her involvement due to her pro-Israel views.
“I did not ask for her casting to be reconsidered or expect anybody else to share my position,” McCarthy continued. “I simply chose not to use my own platform to promote someone whose political views are at odds with my own.”
Gerard McCarthy dropped out of the play last week (Getty)
McCarthy added that “a subsequent conversation” with the playwright Stan Zimmerman made them feel “that withdrawing from the performance was the right decision” for them.
“It’s regrettable that my time on RBIG ends this way,” McCarthy said. “But sometimes you have to be prepared to walk away from something when staying would mean compromising something that matters much more.”
McCarthy, 45, who is originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland, is best known for playing Kris Fisher in Hollyoaks from 2006 until 2010, before taking on roles in The Fall, Call the Midwife and Kenneth Branagh film Belfast.
Former Coronation Street star Lipman has been a longtime supporter of Israel, with the Jewish actor saying in October 2023 that artists who advocate for Palestinians following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October of that year should feel “shame”.
Her remarks came after Tilda Swinton, Charles Dance and Miriam Margolyes were among the 2,000 artists who backed an open call for humanitarian support in Gaza following Israel’s bombardment on the region, which was in response to the Hamas attack.
“I would love the signaturists to answer me this question: If your beloved country had been under attack for 70 years… how angry and exhausted and how determined to defend your country against any future attacks would you be?” she told The Telegraph at the time.
Right Before I Go is set to open at the Soho Theatre on Saturday 5 September, with Dominique Moore, Claire-Marie Hall, Emrhys Cooper, Paul Bigley and Tosh Wanogho-Maud also starring.