Nanny McPhee said what? Millionaire actress Emma Thompson declared Sunday that women who work can’t be great mothers.
The 55-year-old British actress — who starred as the wart-nosed titular character in 2005’s “Nanny McPhee” — took a yearlong break from her movie career to spend time with her 14-year-old daughter, Gaia Wise, and recommends other mothers do the same for their kids.
“You can’t be a great mum and keep working all the time. I wanted to spend more time with my family. A year off was my birthday present to myself. I didn’t actually act or write. I was just a mum,” she told the Daily Mail on Sunday.
“I highly recommend others to do the same, if they can afford it.”
The “Remains of the Day” star — whose net worth is roughly $50 million — said that, during her break, she “taught drama at my daughter’s school, cooked meals and had fun.”
Her parental advice irked working moms, who called it old-fashioned and tone-deaf.
“I don’t agree with her at all. You can work full time and be an incredible mom — and give your kids the feeling that you’re present and that they are loved,” said Laura Deutsch, a mom of two and co-founder of Mommybites, a Web site for moms.
“It doesn’t matter if you work, as long as you show your child that you’re engaged when you are home,” said Deutsch, 41, of Summit, NJ, who has an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old.
“For me, working full time made me a happier person. And being a happier person made me a better mom.”
Plus, she adds, most moms can’t afford a yearlong break.
“[Thompson] has a lot of money, and that skews her perspective. It’s just so different, The majority of moms don’t have that choice,” Deutsch said.
With her remarks, Thompson is following in the footsteps of another film star — Gwyneth Paltrow, who incurred moms’ wrath by claiming women working 9-to-5 jobs have it easier than she does as an actress.
“When you’re shooting a movie, they’re like, ‘We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks,’ and then you work 14 hours a day, and that part of it is very difficult,” Paltrow told E! News in March.
“I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as — of course, there are challenges — but it’s not like being on set.”
Thompson — who, in addition to Gaia, has an adopted 26-year-old son with actor Greg Wise — also lamented the difficulty of balancing motherhood with a film career on Sunday.
“Sometimes in life, you’ll have some things, at other times, you will have other things . . . You don’t need it all at once, it’s not good for you,” she said. “Motherhood is a full-time job.”