Lee Pace, the actor best known for Pushing Daisies, was criticized online after an awkward appearance on NBC's Today show in which he made comments about women that host Craig Melvin quickly pushed back on.
The 47-year-old appeared on the program on Thursday to promote his role in Practical Magic 2, the upcoming sequel starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. Speaking with Melvin, also 47, Pace turned the conversation toward the idea of powerful women.
"This movie, it's a movie about witches and it's given me the opportunity to think about... I guess if you remove the word 'witch' from it, you think about powerful women," Pace said. "You know, a woman who can cook you an incredible meal. You think, 'God, it's chicken and lemon, but why does it taste like that? Is that some kind of magic power or...?'"
Melvin appeared taken aback and interjected, telling Pace: "Yeah, a lot of women, though, who heard you say that, the first superpower you mentioned was cooking."
Pace responded: "Well, I could mention lots of other... I mean, you're right. You called me out for that, so thank you for that. Don't let me off the hook on that one, please, please."
Melvin gives Pace a chance to 'amend the record'
Melvin explained he did not want Pace to be targeted on social media over the comments, telling him: "I just wanted to give you the chance to amend the record."
Pace replied: "Well, we don't want to talk about evil witches because there's a lot of people watching and we don't want to get an evil eye pointed at me. But yeah, there's lots of different powers that you can have."
Viewers react on social media
Despite the apparent attempt to walk back his comments, the exchange did not go unnoticed by viewers, many of whom took to social media to criticize Pace.
"Thank you for calling out the derogatory 'women cooking' comment Craig!" one person wrote. "I heard him say that and I about dropped my hand weight!"
Another added: "I thought the interview got very awkward this morning. Not sure if Craig should have called him out or let it go."
Others were less bothered by Pace's remarks, putting them down to poor phrasing rather than anything more pointed.
"Witches brew stuff up though in potions, surely cooking is the closest real life thing to that. thats all i think he meant - brewing a potion is cooking," one viewer wrote.
Another said: "I saw this and didn't take offense to it and got what he was trying to say."
What Practical Magic 2 is about
Practical Magic 2 is set 25 years after the original 1998 film and is adapted from Alice Hoffman's 2021 novel The Book of Magic. Bullock reprises her role as Sally Owens alongside Kidman as her sister Gillian, with the pair playing witches trying to live ordinary lives despite a family curse.
The sequel also marks Bullock's first film project in four years, following a hiatus from acting. Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are also returning to play Kidman and Bullock's aunts, reprising their roles from the original movie.
