
The happy news is that virtually every tweet was fighting back against racist dissenters. Twitter was immediately swamped with furious reactions. Just before Christmas it emerged that Noma Dumezweni, a black actor, would be playing Hermione Granger in a theatrical sequel to the Harry Potter movies. Yet, because there is a blanket ban on the n-word, it cannot be delivered in the same auditorium where Schumer’s gag is acceptable. Boyle is suggesting it is the administration that is racist. The phrase may make you uneasy, but the “just a joke” defence makes sense. One prime exhibit was a routine that found Boyle imagining a government official answering a phone with the words “Department of Ni**er Bombing”. In 2012, comic Frankie Boyle successfully sued the Daily Mirror for calling him a racist ( a5ij2Q). The “just a joke” defence only works when the comedy undercuts or reverses the surface meaning of an apparently offensive remark. You must decide for yourself whether or not you care. When quizzed, Schumer responded: “It is a joke and it is funny. “I used to date Hispanic guys, but now I prefer consensual,” she remarked in her stand-up act ( ). Weirdly, we are still getting it from supposedly hip comics such as Amy Schumer. You got a lot of the latter from the likes of Jim Davidson and Bernard Manning in the 1980s. Comedians waded in with suggestions that comedy was about to be declared illegal. She confirmed this and said she had no problem with the joke. Fry pointed out that he and Ms Beaven were friends.
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The usual torrent of angry tweets followed. Following the victory by Jenny Beavan – who wore a grey scarf over a leather jacket – for Mad Max: Fury Road, Fry had quipped: “Only one of the great cinematic costume designers would come to an awards ceremony dressed as a bag lady.” The tempest stemmed from remarks the polymath made at last weekend’s Bafta ceremony ( ). This brings us to Stephen Fry and his latest evacuation from Twitter. Recreational outrage is bad for the digestion. If, however, you do not see yourself in that caricature, then stand down the fury. Okay, that is probably unfair to sci-fi fans and comic book enthusiasts. What have I said, now? Are you pressing the signed photo of season-three Gillian Anderson to your face for comfort? My soul is in torment. After all, female critics receive much worse treatment from basement-dwelling dweebs in Batman pyjamas every day. Now, I guess this is “offensive”, but I don’t expect anybody else to get “offended” on my behalf. Last week, somebody on Twitter called me a See-U-Next-Tuesday because I didn’t like a superhero film he admired ( ).
