A respected news organisation has come under fire after referring to human rights lawyer Amal Clooney as an “actor’s wife” in their coverage of a court case.
The Associated Press tweeted an article about three Al Jazeera journalists convicted of “spreading false news” and sentenced to prison in Egypt. They wrote: “Amal Clooney, actor’s wife, representing Al-Jazeera journalist accused in Egypt of ties to extremists.”
Ms Clooney is a barrister with Doughty Street Chambers, specialising in human rights law. She read law at the University of Oxford, before obtaining a postgraduate degree from the New York University School of Law.
She has worked for the UN, contributed to books on international criminal law and lectured at a number of prestigious law schools, a point many people on social media were quick to point out.
Really @AP with "actor's wife?" Amal Clooney IS A civil rights attorney! Please hire copywriters from this century. https://t.co/S1syF5q0BX
— HithaHerzog (@HithaHerzog) August 29, 2015
@AP Actor's wife?! You're making what Amal Clooney's does for a living sound like a hobby she takes up when she needs a little "me-time".
— Joanbeam3000 (@Joanbeam3000) August 29, 2015
According to the @AP Amal Clooney is an ‘actor’s wife’. Lucky she didn’t waste her time going to law school then isn’t it. #FreeAJStaff
— Anne Jenssen (@JetsMets1969) August 29, 2015
*Amal bursts into room* "I'll save you" "Are you a lawyer?!" "Better. I'm Amal Clooney. Actor's Wife." "Thank god!" pic.twitter.com/SoSihUPpJ1
— Hari Srinivasan (@Hari_PR1) August 29, 2015
She has been involved in a number of recent major legal cases including that of the ‘hooded men’ who allege they were tortured under the British government in Northern Ireland during The Troubles, the dispute over the ownership of the Elgin marbles and attempts for the Armenian genocide to be recognised.
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David Starkey 'tells Amal Clooney to shut up and stop over-promoting human rights'
Amal Clooney to represent 'hooded men' in Northern Ireland
Amal Clooney gives excellent response to fashion question at European Court of Human Rights
Since marrying Hollywood actor George Clooney in 2014, some media outlets have been criticised for ‘sexist’ coverage of the lawyer by reducing her to her marital relationship.
In January of this year, when a journalist asked her which fashion designer she would be wearing to a court case, she replied “Ede & Ravenscroft”, the tailor who makes court robes for lawyers.
