Stephen Fry and the BAFTAS

Stephen Fry made a rude joke about Jenny Beaven at the BAFTAS and was pilloried.

Now, I love Stephen Fry.  I think he was bantering with a friend, and that should have been taken into account. I also think his joke was  ill considered, because yeah, women do get shit for what they wear when men don't.

I don't think this is a case of egregious sexism. I also don't think that this is an example of 'social justice warriors' (how I loathe that term) bullying a great person, or about how we're all 'too politically correct'. 

I think this is an example of how we can't leave people with mental illness the fuck alone.

Stephen Fry & Bipolar

Stephen Fry is a man who has been open about his struggle with bipolar disorder. He's produced brilliant documentaries, spoken about his suicide attempts and works with fantastic organisations like Mind. He's acknowledged that his personal wealth cushions him from some of the negative effects of his illness and that in some respects he's very lucky compared to others. 

He's still a human being, struggling with mental illness, in the public sphere. And the public sphere's reaction is to mock him for it. 

Let's go over events leading up to him being excoriated on social media and the press. 

• Ill considered, slightly off remarks.
• Arguing with people online and off. 
• Expletive laden 'meltdown' in public.
• Sensitive reaction to criticism. 
• Grandiose gestures (quitting Twitter).
• Wanting to run away (the suggested move to Hollywood).

All behaviours which sound immensely familiar to anyone who has ever experienced mania.

Criticism of Fry

I've scanned social media and some comment sections and was utterly unsurprised by the reactions. Trolls and MRAs (who usually hate homosexuals) wanted to use him as some kind of poster boy, because he'd been 'mobbed by SJWs'. Some women accused him of misogyny. A subset of out and proud homophobes used the opportunity to criticise his 'lifestyle' and used words like 'hissy fit', 'flouncing' etc to convey their utter disdain for what they wrongly think gay people are like. 

Some people also mocked him for what they saw as his over the top reaction to 'a little bit of criticism'. 

This sort of reaction isn't 'a little bit of criticism'. This is literally thousands of people telling you that you are a terrible person. This is especially awful for a person suffering with bipolar. This is a man with a documented history of suicide attempts, being told he is a dreadful human being.

I applaud his decision to get off Twitter, because it's probably a good idea for his mental health right now. It shows as well that he is feeling well enough to extract himself from a situation which is making his mental health worse.

The Court of Public Opinion

There's often this bizarre perception that celebrities aren't really human, or that being a little bit different entitles other people to point and laugh (and destroy other people's lives).

The Daily Mail mocked Katie Price's disabled son. Richard Littlejohn conducted a media harassment campaign against a trans teacher until she killed herself.

A food columnist called Jack Monroe, who writes entertaining books and articles about how to feed yourself on next to nothing, was bullied relentlessly for being a lesbian and later coming out as non binary. She was also criticised for being 'middle class' although why that matters, especially when it's not true, is a mystery. She had bizarre lies levelled at her - Katie Hopkins accused her of vandalising war memorials - as the child of a veteran British soldier, Monroe said she would sue. Julie Bindel accused her of promoting animal cruelty with cheap meat, even though Monroe only uses free range, organic meat, and explained that that is why she doesn't eat it very often.

In terms of mental illness, you only need look at Britney Spears and Sinead O Connor. The public sphere treats celebrities with mental illness as hilarious. They talk about them as having made bad choices, and not as being unwell.