Simon Pegg claims only “weak” and “insecure” men are intimidated by funny women and those who “bemoan” female comedy are more often than not, “misogynists”.
In response to an article in The Atlantic which investigated why women are not often considered as funny as men, Pegg wrote a column for Glamour to say that actually, they are.
“Weak men are intimidated by funny women because wit is an indication of intelligence and intelligence is a threat to elitism.
“You often hear misogynists bemoaning ‘female comedy’ because it deals with specifically female issues that they can’t relate to. That makes sense because misogynists suffer from a severe lack of empathy.”
Pegg writes that he personally loves funny women as they make him “giddy and self-conscious”.
“As a straight male, women are an extraordinary bunch and humour from women can help me to understand the experiences of the women in my own life.”
Citing his early “crushes” as strong, funny women like Diane Keaton and Madeline Khan, he writes, “wit doesn’t just imply intelligence, it implies strength, and that’s what really unnerves insecure men.”
This is not the first occasion that the actor has lent himself to feminism.
He previously waded into the Hollywood gender inequality debate, telling Buzzfeed he doesn’t believe there are “enough female voices in film”.
He also tweeted and held a sign saying ‘He For She’ in support of Emma Watson’s powerful speech on tackling gender inequality at the United Nations.
