“Theresa is a bloody difficult woman but you and I worked with Margaret Thatcher [laughs].”
While miked and waiting to be interviewed by Sky News, veteran Tory MP Ken Clarke was caught commenting to fellow guest Sir Malcolm Rifkind about his party’s leadership candidates, including British Home Secretary Theresa May, who is currently running to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.
After the media outlet released the footage and it circulated, women (and men) in the Twittersphere reacted with the hashtag #BloodyDifficultWoman, quickly turning Clarke’s barb into an empowered badge of honor.
Here are just a few of our favorite Tweets…
You don't get very far in life and certainly not in politics without being a #BloodyDifficultWoman unless, of course, you're a man.
— Andrea Catherwood (@acatherwoodnews) July 6, 2016
I am proud and fortunate that my mum was a #BloodyDifficultWoman or else I wouldn't have survived the Great Depression.
— Harry Leslie Smith (@Harryslaststand) July 5, 2016
Raising a glass to Bloody Difficult Women everywhere. #BloodyDifficultWoman pic.twitter.com/f1xFWyc4UA
— Hannah Rose Woods (@hannahrosewoods) July 5, 2016
In my experience, when men describe you as a #bloodydifficultwoman, they mean you are more intelligent than they are.
— Jo Warner (@JoWarner01) July 5, 2016
When a male equivalent would be "strong, assertive, passionate…" OK…#BloodyDifficultWoman pic.twitter.com/5zBv8xSnVW
— SP (@gifofred) July 5, 2016
So, where do we get the #BloodyDifficultWoman badges from?
— Alison Inman (@Alison_Inman) July 5, 2016
Raising my daughter to become a #BloodyDifficultWoman
— Kathryn Gray (@KathrynGray) July 5, 2016
I'm married to a #BloodyDifficultWoman
I need to declare at this point , it's the best thing I ever did.
— Connor Byrne? (@connorjbyrne) July 5, 2016
Best compliment any woman can be given: #BloodyDifficultWoman
A few will be running the world VERY soon… https://t.co/56kHFsdTAS— Bonnie Greer (@Bonn1eGreer) July 5, 2016
As I get older, I can't get over the shock when people meet a woman who's ultimate goal isn't to be pleasant. #BloodyDifficultWoman
— Sasha de Buyl-Pisco (@sashadebuyl) July 5, 2016
Eleanor Roosevelt #BloodyDifficultWoman
— Rachel Krys (@Rachelkrys) July 5, 2016
Pretty sure I've been described as a #bloodydifficultwoman in my time. Take it as a compliment. No doubt qualities seen as positive in men.
— Louise Taft (@Louise_Taft) July 5, 2016