James McAvoy calls out London critic for 'whining Scottish accents' remark in review

Scottish actor James McAvoy has taken to social media to call out English theatre critic Quentin Letts over his review of a major theatre production in which he describes Scottish accents as "whining".
The star made the video while in San Diego for Comic Con.The star made the video while in San Diego for Comic Con.
The star made the video while in San Diego for Comic Con.

The Hollywood star took to Instagram to ask his followers to share a video with the critic on Twitter - a platform the actor himself doesn't use - after Letts wrote in his review of Peter Gynt that "the fruity purr of veteran thesp Oliver Ford Davies and the button moulder brings a welcome calm to proceedings, and relief at last from the whining Scottish accents".

McAvoy, who highlighted the passage in the Sunday Times review, jumped to the defence of fellow Scots, including fellow actors James McArdle and Dani Herron who star in the play, by posting a lengthy video on the social media site while in San Diego.

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In it, he said: "Quentin I would love to have a conversation with you, maybe we could have a discussion why you think it is ok to label the sound of an entire nation in such a derogatory fashion.

The star's post on Instagram highlighting the text.The star's post on Instagram highlighting the text.
The star's post on Instagram highlighting the text.

"Where the person with an English accent is referred to by his name, as an individual with fruity superlatives, whereas the people who are 'whining' just get referred to as Scottish, not individuals, not as actors, just an entire nation."

He then goes on to add that perhaps they could invite people with both Scottish and English accents, as well as the cast of Peter Gynt to join them, before joking that the "fruity burrs of Oliver Ford Davies" could even mediate.

The critic himself has yet to respond to the invitation but McAvoy's followers flocked to comment on the post with it quickly gaining over 130,000 likes.

Singer KT Tunstall wrote: "There are certain words that acquire immeasurably more power when delivered with a Scottish accent. You know the ones. Appropriate."

Another user simply added: "The Scottish accent is one of the best in the world."

While others thanked him for his "incredibly eloquent and measured response".