Lipman brands Margolyes a self-publicist and shock jock over Gaza remarks

Maureen Lipman, the Coronation Street actress and columnist, has branded Miriam Margolyes a shock jock and self-publicist for her comments on the Gaza war, fueling a rare public rift between two high-profile Jewish performers. Margolyes, a longtime advocate on Israel matters, described Israel as vicious and genocidal in an interview with The Big Issue, saying she was born in 1941 at the height of the Holocaust and cannot bear to think that her people are doing the same to another nation. She also argued that Hitler had altered Jewish people from compassionate and caring to a vicious, genocidal nationalist force pursuing and killing women and children.

Lipman responded in her latest Spectator column, arguing that Margolyes latest remarks amount to a PR splash rather than careful, civil commentary. Lipman wrote that at least one Jewish colleague expressed horror at the Israeli Defense Forces’ actions in Gaza, while Margolyes is described as a shock jock, a potty-mouthed controversialist and self-publicist, whose comparison of Israelis to Nazis she finds unproductive and inflammatory.

In a prompt social-media exchange, Margolyes shared Lipman’s column image on Facebook and wrote simply that it was from Dame Maureen Lipman, prompting further public comment. Margolyes had also urged all Jewish people to shout, beg, scream for a ceasefire in her Big Issue interview, a stance that drew criticism from groups such as the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which called for her OBE to be rescinded, even as she drew support from others online.

Separately, Margolyes has discussed plans to leave the United Kingdom for Italy to live with her long-time partner, Heather Sutherland. The two, who have been together for 57 years, are preparing to relocate to Tuscany for retirement after a period of health challenges. The Observer reported that the move would bring an end to Margolyes’s long-standing base in London and Sutherland’s residence in Amsterdam, adding that they have long dreamed of settling in a place they describe as charming and restorative. Margolyes has said the world around them has lost its charm and that they want to be together in a beautiful place for the final chapter of their lives.

The dispute comes as entertainers and public figures grapple with how to address the conflict in Gaza and the broader debate over Israel and Palestinians, within the context of their own communities. Lipman’s critique and Margolyes’s response underscore how public figures’ pasts and identities can complicate discussions on war and human rights within culture and entertainment audiences.