Therese Coffey, the new health secretary, has been made fun of on social media when her alarm went off and she played Dr. Dre during a live interview.
The phone alarm happened during Ms. Coffey’s interview with Nick Ferrari of LBC, during which she was being questioned about assuming her new post.
She hurried to turn off her alarm, which was set to the first few notes of Dr. Dre’s 1999 hit Still D.R.E.
She apologized after realizing her phone’s alarm was going off. “You’re getting some Dr. Dre,”
The odd music selection for Ms. Coffey’s alarm was quickly noted on social media, and cynical commenters accused her of staging a PR hoax.
Ms Coffey’s interview with LBC’s Nick Ferrari was interrupted by the phone alarm while she was being quizzed about taking on her new role – sparking a wave of memes poking fun at her
Some believed the incident was an attempt by Ms Coffey to appeal to younger members of the population.
One user said: ‘If you asked Therese Coffey to give an impromptu couple of lines of Dr Dre I guarantee you she’d not have a clue.’
Other users were quick to poke fun at the surprising choice of song, with one user writing: ‘Backed Therese Coffey alarm clock being Dr Dre at 1,000,000 to 1. Never in doubt.’
Another user said: ‘Oh great, now Dr Dre is uncool.’
Some users were quick to poke fun at the surprising choice of song, with one writing: ‘Backed Therese Coffey alarm clock being Dr Dre at 1,000,000 to 1. Never in doubt’
A third user wrote: ‘Dr Dre being asked about Therese Coffey is the 2022 moment I am waiting for.’
It comes as Ms Coffey has admitted that she is ‘no role model’ when it comes to her own body as she was questioned over her weight, drinking habits and cigar smoking.
In the interview that was briefly interrupted by Dr Dre with LBC’s Ferrari, he asked: ‘As someone who likes a cigar, enjoys the odd noggin – as I do – and let’s be candid, you and I could possibly do with losing a pound or two… you are not necessarily the best example to be the Secretary of State for Health. Therese Coffey, how would you respond?’.
Therese Coffey has never lived down a picture taken at a Spectator magazine party in 2015 at which she was snapped puffing away on a large cigar and clutching a glass of champagne
Therese Coffey’s was left laughing when phone alarm went off on LBC today – playing Dr Dre
The cabinet minister smiled and said: ‘My focus is on how we deliver for patients and I appreciate I may not be the role model, but I am sure that the Chief Medical Officer and others will continue to be role models in that regard and I will do my best as well’.
As the photo of her smoking and drinking at the Spectator Summer Party in 2016 was trending on Twitter, she added: ‘I will probably get all sorts of comments, Nick, but nevertheless, on a more serious matter, I have been a patient of the NHS too and have had some brilliant experiences and I have had some experiences where it could have been better.
‘My focus is on patients and that is what I will be making sure the department focuses on too.’
The new Health Secretary, who describes herself as a former smoker, was asked about the body shaming she faced online and said: ‘I don’t tend to look at social media’, adding that such comments do not worry her.
There was some support for Ms Coffey on Twitter – from people who dismissed concerns about her lifestyle. Some said that the criticism was sexist and would not be aimed at a man.