During an on-stage conversation with Goldie Hawn, Michael Eisner said it was difficult to find a woman who was attractive and witty

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner has said that beautiful women who are also funny are virtually impossible to find.

Sandra Bullock: I'm scared by media's open hunting season on women Read more

Eisner, who held the senior position at Disney from 1984 to 2005, was part of an on-stage conversation with Goldie Hawn when he announced his theory for why she stood out for so long in Hollywood.

“From my position, the hardest artist to find is a beautiful, funny woman,” he said. “By far. They usually – boy am I going to get in trouble, I know this goes online – but usually, unbelievably beautiful women, you being an exception, are not funny.

“I know women who have been told they’re beautiful, they win Miss Arkansas, they don’t ever have to get attention other than with their looks. So they don’t tell a joke. In the history of the motion-picture business, the number of beautiful, really beautiful women – a Lucille Ball – that are funny, is impossible to find.”

He claimed that Hawn was an exception to the rule because she didn’t “think” she was attractive. Hawn confessed to thinking of herself as an “ugly duckling”.

In Eisner’s time at Disney, he helped to usher in films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Little Mermaid. Since leaving, he has been involved in various projects, including a claymation show called Glenn Martin, DDS.