BBC/YouTubeStephen Fry appears to have quit Twitter following backlash to a joke he made at Sunday night’s Bafta award show.
Fry, who has hosted the ceremony for the past 11 years, quipped that costume designer Jenny Beavan looked like a ‘bag lady’ as she scooped the Bafta for costume design.
Beavan received the award for Mad Max: Fury Road and took to the stage wearing a black leather coat, white t-shirt and trousers.
Fry then commented:
Only one of the great cinematic costume designers would come to the awards dressed like a bag lady.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmCIVgo7Dl0
Following the ceremony, the celebrated comedic actor sought to clarify that he and Beavan are friends, and that his comments weren’t malicious.
TwitterBut that wasn’t enough for some people who had already began sharpening their social media knives…
Oh, do one, Stephen Fry. I loved costume BAFTA went to woman in comfortable shoes. #baglady
— Janice Turner (@VictoriaPeckham) February 14, 2016
Stephen Fry’s “dressed as a bag lady” joke about the winner of costume design was horrid. True colours, there. #BAFTA
— Beth Neil (@bethneil) February 14, 2016
Not sure what was worse, Stephen fry making that crass comment about jenny beaven or the audience laughing. Time for a new presenter #bafta
— sarah housden (@sarahhousden) February 14, 2016
As a result, by Monday morning Fry’s Twitter profile seemed to have disappeared.
But there has also been plenty of support online for Fry…
@sarahhousden You obviously don’t have a sense of humour or any understanding of their friendship which allowed such a quip.
— mark mason (@PacyMacy) February 15, 2016
@stephenfry Didn’t you get the memo? No-one is allowed to do jokes anymore.
— Matt Lucas (@RealMattLucas) February 14, 2016
On hearing Stephen Fry’s deleted his account, thought I’d repost this from last night. pic.twitter.com/aZxhtSO6qy
— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) February 15, 2016
Had amazing time @ BAFTA’s tonight x props to @stephenfry for hosting brilliantly & to all those diverse members! ? pic.twitter.com/ZlC6xC8kiM
— Rebel Wilson (@RebelWilson) February 15, 2016
Genuinely hope Stephen Fry is alright. Hope he knows we all love him really. Stupid twitter.
— James Stuart (@thisforkicks) February 15, 2016
A statement on Fry’s website has attempted to downplay the deactivation of the account, but concedes ‘the fun is over.’
StephenFry.comThe statement reads:
It’s no big deal – as it shouldn’t be. But yes, for anyone interested I have indeed deactivated my twitter account. I’ve ‘left’ twitter before, of course: many people have time off from it whether they are in the public eye or not. Think of it as not much more than leaving a room. I like to believe I haven’t slammed the door, much less stalked off in a huff throwing my toys out of the pram as I go or however one should phrase it. It’s quite simple really: the room had started to smell. Really quite bad.
Oh goodness, what fun twitter was in the early days, a secret bathing-pool in a magical glade in an enchanted forest. It was glorious ‘to turn as swimmers into cleanness leaping.’ We frolicked and water-bombed and sometimes, in the moonlight, skinny-dipped. We chattered and laughed and put the world to rights and shared thoughts sacred, silly and profane. But now the pool is stagnant. It is frothy with scum, clogged with weeds and littered with broken glass, sharp rocks and slimy rubbish. If you don’t watch yourself, with every move you’ll end up being gashed, broken, bruised or contused. Even if you negotiate the sharp rocks you’ll soon feel that too many people have peed in the pool for you to want to swim there any more. The fun is over.
Hopefully, this is a similar situation to the hiatus Fry took from social media in February 2015, and we will have his razor wit just a click away again very soon.
