Today’s Good Morning Britain panelists divided opinion after discussing whether women should dumb themselves down’ after Kate Beckinsale stated that her exceptionally high IQ has impeded her career.
The 48-year-old actress caused a stir last Wednesday after appearing on a US Radio show, where she claimed her 152 IQ – which Mensa considers a genius’ score – was a handicap’ that ‘held her back.
Speaking to shock jock Howard Stern, the Oxford graduate said: ‘It’s no good to me though. It’s really not helpful in my career. I just think it might be a handicap, actually.’
Appearing on the ITV show this morning, journalist Sally Jones said that ‘everyone dumbs themselves down’ and that she has played down her IQ in the past in order to fit in and get ahead.
However, Carole Malone disagreed saying there’s ‘no point’ of ‘equality and emancipation’ of women if they’re unable to show they’re smart.
Good Morning Britain panellist split opinion of viewers today after discussing whether women should ‘dumb themselves down’ in order to fit in after Kate Beckinsale said her extremely high intelligence has ‘held her back’ in her career. Appearing on the ITV show this morning, journalist Sally Jones said that ‘everyone dumbs themselves down’ and that she has played down her IQ in the past in order to fit in.
‘I think we all do now and again,’ Sally told host Adil Ray and Charlotte Hawkins.
‘I was a moderately academic child and I was fairly rough school. And on my first day a big school someone pushed me in the biology room. And I think that was just because I’d been putting my hand up in class a bit.
‘I stopped putting my hand up and assumed a bit more of a brummie accent like everyone around me had. And it certainly paid off because suddenly you’ve got some friends who sounded like everybody else and no one like a smart a***.
‘No one likes to feel that you’re going “I’m cleverer than you”. Just concealing the fact that you’ve got a few brains from time to time, doesn’t stop you having those brains, it actually I think makes you a lot more effective.
‘When I was working as a news journalist in television, I’d often go to the crime scene and pretend to be normal and look on and say “What’s going on the officer?”
‘And when they thought you were just an ordinary passer-by they obviously often tell you the whole thing. You get far more knowledge far more background detail, probably a much better story long term by being ordinary
However, Carole Malone disagreed saying there’s ‘no point’ of ‘equality and emancipation’ of women if they’re unable to show they’re smart.
‘I have had bits of brummie accent in the past, you know, sort of comes and goes, but it’s one of those accents where, I’m sorry to say that many people you hear a real thick brummie and assume you’re thick as mince. And of course you’re not look at all the clever brummies there are, but it’s just one of those things.
‘I admire Carole, and look at lovely I think it’s a Liverpudlian accent. I think that must have helped people to just assume that she’s down with the kids, one of them, you know, because she’s got a little bit of an accent. And I think that all these things happen. I mean, you even heard Tony Blair dropping his Ts when speaking to working class voters.
Many Twitter users disagreed with Sally, saying she mixed up intelligence and accent, while others said they’ve felt like they had to conceal their brains to fit in.
Carole also disagreed with Sally explaining that she doesn’t want cruel trolls to give her any ammunition by acting dumb.
‘In my job people tell me every day that I’m dumb, so I don’t want to play to the stereotype. I grew up in a great working class area where you were suppose to never do anything.. And I was always determined that was never gonna be me,’ she explained.
‘I don’t know something. I will say I don’t know it. But I can’t believe it Kate Beckinsale is saying this. This woman went to Oxford. She speaks fluent Russian. She’s hot and she’s smart and I don’t believe for a second it’s held her back.
‘Did it hold Vanessa Redgrave back? Did it hold Judi Dench back? Susan Sarandon? Fantastic actresses and activist.
Many Twitter users disagreed with Sally, saying she mixed up intelligence and accent, while others said they’ve felt like they had to conceal their brains to fit in.
‘Kat might have held her back by being not a great enough actress’.
Defending the star, host Charlotte Hawkins said: ‘I think what she is suggesting though that she’s probably had to modify her behaviour and we haven’t heard from the others as to whether they felt they’ve had to do that’.
Carole took umbrage with this adding: ‘It’s the 21st century! What is equality of emancipation all of that is we can’t show that we’re smart?
‘Choosing to be dumb, is choosing to be liked over being right and being intelligent.
‘And I absolutely think that’s just the bad move for any woman.
‘I’ve been in my career for 40 years, too, and I’ve never played dumb to do it.
‘Do I want people to trust me? Yes. Do I want them to like me? Yes, but it’s never required me being or appearing dumb.
Kate Beckinsale caused a stir last week after appearing on a US radio show where she said her 152 IQ – which is considered a ‘genius’ score by Mensa – was a ‘handicap’ and ‘held her back’. Howard Stern, shock jock from London, was interviewed by the Oxford graduate. Stern said that it was not good for him. It’s not helpful in my professional life. I think it might be a handicap.
‘No one can say I’m stupid. I have said that on many occasions.
“Women can be as smart as possible, but it’s not arrogant. Let’s take a look back at the days when Marilyn Monroe starred in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She said, “Men don’t like smart women.” They don’t want intelligent women in their lives!
The times have changed! I don’t want to be around a man who thinks he can’t take intelligence.
Hitting back Sally added: ‘I think that just because you don’t bring out your full arsenal of intelligence with everybody doesn’t mean to say that the brains are not there. I believe most decent men want to marry a very intelligent woman.
“And I think the key is to be able operate at the same level with everyone, not trying to force your brain into submission. Showing off is more dangerous than genocide in our family.
“And it’s a British thing. It’s almost self-effacing. If you get an American and somebody asked them “Oh, have you done” they immediately reel out every minor achievement they’ve done.
“And you get Brits and it’s so much more charming because they say, Well, I just got a little lucky I have this sort Nobel prize, this second from Cambridge”, or whatever, and I think that’s a much more charming side.
“I will brag with my best friend if I go to a job interviews, for instance, but I and we will sort of try out to bring out all the big guns whatever stage we have chosen in my life in intelligence, but it does help to be able act normally.
‘I find that the sort of protective colouring of school of sort of fooling about being mad on sport, nobody would actually suspect that you would actually have quite a lot of friends and be clever.