to think Stephen Fry is a shit

[AgaPanthers]

Apparently he thinks Operation Yewtree is a sham and we need tougher laws against people making up sexual abuse allegations.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/stephen-fry-criticises-operation-yewtree-in-dinner-party-rant-calling-for-tougher-laws-to-deter-false-sex-abuse-allegations-9602686.html

I thought he was supposed to be intelligent? Surely he realises that

My post was for limitedperiodonly.

He's a pompous self-obsessed bore. Intelligent but too smug to be likeable.

Without listening to his speech, it's difficult to know what he actually said, in context.

Nasty.... now shall we all head for Orwell's 1984, and be prosecuted for thoughts? Even better, thoughts other people have salaciously ascribed to us.

I heard from a friend of a friend, who had a mate, who worked at the BBC, who had a friend who as a psychiatrist.....

... and thus becomes "fact". Sigh.

what Nomama said

herecomesthesun and hedgebets what utterly horrible comments. With absolutely no more to back them up than any piece of horrible gossip. By all means criticise what he, or anyone else has said about Operation Yewtree, or anything else. You have the right to your opinion. If you have evidence that any celebrity - or anyone else has committed abuse, you should of course report it. But to CONJECTURE ON and then CRITICISE someone for their thoughts, on the basis of gossip? That's just nasty.

and YY to Nomama. Someone's thoughts are their own domain.

I never said he should be silenced. The one from the Independent mentions him lunching with Jonathon King, not his play. Why would that cover me in glory? Weird. It's MUmsnet, not Newsnight. The two articles mentioning the play are the Daily Mail and The Metro. 'Mimsy'? Sounds like the kind of word used to put someone down. I have one for you. Bully.

ScandinavianPrincess wtf are you on about?

You aren't the OP. I wasn't talking to you.

Would you like to apologise for calling me a bully and getting the wrong end of the stick?

What on earth is the artistic director of the company performing Fry's play going on about? "The love that dare not speak it's name", indeed.

Surely that is homosexuality, not paedophilia? As I understand it, the crime Oscar Wilde was convicted of would not be considered a crime today. Wasn't the man he had sex with a consenting adult?

It is pretty disgusting to try to muddy the waters to equate homosexuality with paedophilia.

IIRC he has cyclothymia, which is the mildest of the three forms bipolar can take ( bipolar I being the most severe and bipolar II being the second )

That's a common misconception. Bipolar II is associated with shorter intervals of wellness, more intense depressive episodes and the highest risk of suicidal ideation than any of the other forms of bipolar.

Maryz - yes. It can be heartrending.

Tinkly, I have read that some of the boys giving evidence in the Wilde trial would now be considered underage

Herecomesthesun- so your friend the psychiatrist diagnosed somebody as a latent paedophile based on a television appearance? How incredibly professional of him. Not.

not diagnosis no.

I was a teenager in the 1970's. At the time (and I wasn't one!!!) there were very many 'Groupies' - thousands of them - who would throw themselves at any celebrity/pop star/famous person they could get their hands on, and of course those well-known people took advantage of what was being handed to them on a plate. Some of those young people may have been under-age at the time. Some of the celebrities maybe forgot to ask how old they were in the heat of the moment. Maybe they did ask. Probably they have forgotten all about it by now. Does that make them a paedophile? How are we to judge?

Erm... "I think..." you posted your opinion. No amount of being unwilling to talk about something makes that anything but conjecture.

If you know something report it. But what you posted could be actionable. It is certainly not nice, as it stands.

Maybe you should ask for it to be removed.

"My comment was not speculation, although I wrongly presented it that way because I am unwilling to talk about what I witnessed.

Apologies to anyone who found it offensive."

What a nasty, small minded, attention seeking post. "Ooh, I know a secret, but I'm not telling" Yuck.

If you're not willing to talk about it, don't. Simple.

Hi Nomama, I said I "wrongly" presented it as conjecture, so no-one's disagreeing with you.

I'll ask for it to be removed

herecomes
You are right, I have googled (should have done so first). "the love that dare not speak it's name" thing seems to be specifically about the love of an older man for a younger man. Never knew that. Every day's a school day.

Hakluyt exactly why I am going to ask Mumsnet to remove the posts.

Some of the attitudes on this thread are far more narrow-minded, or stupid, irresponsible, ill-informed or ignorant than anything Stephen Fry may or may not have said.