Stephen Fry has apologised for remarks that suggested he believed survivors of sexual abuse who pity themselves should “grow up”.
The actor and broadcaster, who is president of the mental health charity Mind, was criticised for the comments made on the US talk show The Rubin Report.
In a statement on the Mind website, he said: “It distresses me greatly to think that I have upset anyone in the course of the TV interview I had with David Rubin the other week.
“I of course apologise unreservedly for hurting feelings the way I did. That was never my purpose.”
He added: “There are few experiences more terrible, traumatic and horrifying than rape and abuse and if I gave the impression that I belittled those crimes and the effects they have on their victims then I am so, so sorry.
“It seems I must have utterly failed to get across what I was actually trying to say and instead offended and upset people who didn’t deserve to be offended or upset.”
Mind said: “We understand why some people may have been upset by Stephen Fry’s remarks in a recent American TV interview. Stephen was speaking in a personal context, giving his own views as part of a longer discussion on the subject of freedom of speech.”
The charity praised Fry, who is currently working in the US, for his work to raise awareness and understanding of bipolar disorder and other mental health problems.
During the interview, which Rubin posted on YouTube on 4 April, Fry said: “There are many great plays which contain rapes, and the word rape now is even considered a rape.
“They’re terrible things and they have to be thought about, clearly, but if you say you can’t watch this play, you can’t watch Titus Andronicus, or you can’t read it in a Shakespeare class, or you can’t read Macbeth because it’s got children being killed in it, it might trigger something when you were young that upset you once, because uncle touched you in a nasty place, well, I’m sorry.“It’s a great shame and we’re all very sorry that your uncle touched you in that nasty place – you get some of my sympathy – but your self-pity gets none of my sympathy because self-pity is the ugliest emotion in humanity.”
The 58-year-old went on to say: “Grow up.”
Fry was criticised by victims of sexual assault, including Tracey Merrett, who wrote the actor an open letter in the New Day newspaper, saying: “I felt angry that you would say such heartless, glib things so publicly – tarring us all with one big ‘abuse’ brush.”
