Brian Cox sparks fury with ‘patronising’ voter remarks ahead of Trump’s inauguration

Actor , 78, has landed himself in hot water after suggesting that female supporters of lacked “awareness” of what re-electing the Republican candidate would mean.

The Succession star’s controversial comments came during an appearance on , as he discussed Trump’s landslide victory over in November’s presidential election. Trump will be sworn in today (January 20) at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, marking the start of his second term in office.

Speaking to hosts and , Cox shared his concerns about the treatment of women in America, saying: “The thing that worries me more than anything else is how women are being treated, how the women are being marginalised in America.

“We’ve seen it with the defeat of Hilary [Clinton]. We’ve certainly seen it with the defeat of Kamala [Harris]. And that has really made a problem, where do women fit in within that society? Women are fighting for their own rights, you know, the whole abortion issue…”

Madeley quickly challenged Cox, pointing out that millions of women had voted for Trump. Cox conceded, but didn’t hold back, adding: “Well, they do! And that’s the problem, they don’t realise. It’s the lack of awareness that baffles me.”

The Scottish actor, who divides his time between the UK and US, went on to call Trump a “convicted criminal” and “a known liar” as he expressed his disbelief that voters had trusted him as president. However, many viewers took issue with Cox’s comments, calling them patronising and out of touch.

Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – one user fumed: “Listen to Brian telling women they didn’t know what they voted for… [laughing emoji] Going to give them a little pat on the head too, so you can really patronise them?”

Another chimed in: “Loved the patronising comment that women’s ‘lack of awareness’ made them vote for Trump. This old snob also pushes for Scottish independence from his base. He has no idea what is going on in the real world and he doesn’t care.”

A third viewer fumed: “Why do actors have to ruin their work by thinking anyone cares what their political beliefs are?? There [are] so many actors’ work I can’t now watch because they spoil it by being idiotic mouthpieces for the far-left.”

Some comments took a more sarcastic tone, with one critic writing: “Oh, a man telling women they are thick. How wonderful.” Another viewer diplomatically added: “Great actor but disagreed with everything else he said! Sometimes it really is better to stick to the day job although we’re all entitled to an opinion!”

was sworn in in Washington D.C on Monday January 20th. All formerliving presidents attended the ceremony, which was forced to move inside the Capital Rotunda due to severe cold wetaher conditions.

Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays from 6am on ITV1 or catch up on ITVX.