Nicola Sturgeon brands English actor Rupert Everett 'deeply misogynistic' after 'witch' jibe

Nicola Sturgeon has labelled an actor “deeply misogynistic” after he called her a “witch” and accused the former first minister of spoiling the arts in Scotland.

Rupert Everett, who provided the voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek series and also starred in My Best Friend’s Wedding alongside Julia Roberts, had claimed the ex-SNP leader had made the arts focus exclusively on stories about Scotland.

In an interview with The Herald, Mr Everett had contrasted the outlook of the Citizens Theatre in Glasgow in previous decades to the arts under the SNP Government.

The 66-year old said: “It was a European theatre in the same vein as Peter Stein, Pina Bausch. It was a national European theatre. And unlike those theatres, it never ran at a loss. It presented an uncompromising array of work to people that it never patronised.

Rupert Everett played Prince Charming in Shrek and Shrek 2 | Dreamworks

“As soon as the witch Sturgeon came into power, everything changed in Scottish arts and everything had to be about being Scottish. In the whole United Kingdom, there was nothing like that theatre. It was one of the most extraordinary cultural events I think in the British scene postwar, frankly.”

Ms Sturgeon, Scotland’s longest-serving leader, called the claims “baseless rubbish”.

Writing on Instagram, Ms Sturgeon said: "What is it with [some] men who can’t disagree with a woman without resorting to deeply misogynistic tropes? His substantive point is baseless rubbish too.”

Earlier this year, Ms Sturgeon had claimed her support for trans rights had prompted more sexism than on any other issue.

She said: “Many of those who are on the other side [of the issue] say it is all about protecting women. Isn’t it ironic that I have probably had more misogynistic abuse as a result of this issue than on any other issue in my entire political career. Go figure.”