Comedian Stephen Fry has sparked a fresh Twitter row after he called a Cambridge University student who criticised him a ”cynical ignorant f****r”.
Fry, 53, attacked student Milo Yiannopoulos, 27, after he branded the celebrity ”opportunistic” for offering to pay the fine of a man sacked for posting a joke on Twitter.
Accountant Paul Chambers, 27, was fined £3,000 after he lost an appeal against his conviction for sending a ”menacing” tweet threatening to blow up an airport.
Writing on his online blog Yiannopoulos slammed the ”absurd” judgement and commented on the many offers of support Chambers had received.
He wrote: ”Perhaps that’s why Twitter has been ablaze with messages of support, including a somewhat opportunistic offer from Stephen Fry to stump up the cash.”
Former Queen’s college student Fry posted – and quickly deleted – an angry attack after reading Yiannopoulos’ blog.
The QI host wrote: ” ‘somewhat opportunistic’? – you cynical ignorant f*****r. Why do any of us even bother?” [sic]
Yiannopoulos has now posted a link to a picture of the tweet on his profile and branded the actor, author and comedian ”unstable” and a ”diva”.
The English student at Wolfson College, Cambridge was contacted by student newspaper The Tab about Fry’s rant.
He said: ”It’s nice to know he reads my column. It’s just ludicrous attention seeking from someone who can’t deal with taking criticism.
”If you fail to give Stephen Fry the respect and adoration he demands, he gets very nasty very quickly.
”He can’t cope with being referred to as anything but a national treasure. I think everyone’s getting a bit cheesed off with his diva antics now.
”It wouldn’t surprise me if he had another hissy fit and threaten to leave Twitter again.
”He’s developed this bumbling, adorable, avuncular persona but I think we are now starting to see the cracks appear. He’s clearly unstable.
”If he had wanted to pay this man’s fines he could have arranged to do it privately but instead he’s trying to make a show of the whole thing.
”I find it funny that comes so soon after his horrible comments about women and sex. It was designed to court publicity and popularity – like most of the things he does.
”At at the slightest bit of criticism he flies off the handle. He needs to be a bit more careful or else employ someone else to manage his Twitter account like other celebrities do.”
Fry abandoned Twitter for four days on 31 October after he was widely criticised over comments that women did not enjoy sex as much as men.
Last November he quit the social networking site after encountering ”too much aggression and unkindness” but returned the following day.
Stephen Fry refused to comment on his furious tweet to blogger Milo Yiannopoulos.
A spokeswoman for the comedian said: ”Stephen Fry is most politely declining to add further comment.”
The guy is a moron. And I don’t mean Fry.
…and an opportunist himself. Pot meet kettle.
The amount of assumptions he makes about Stephen Fry is staggering, the fact they’re repeated here is also odd, the poster under attack can’t possibly psycho analyse SF from this incident and only draw those highly negative conclusions, as there are a whole host of other ones, most far less grounded in negativity to be drawn.
Cynical, ignorant f****r indeed.
Fry made a comment out of anger that he quickly retracted. We all have moments of darkness. Yiannopoulos on the other hand appears to make toolbaggery a way of life.
I will point out that Fry is bipolar.
Yep, and the kid is totally worthless.
Can’t say I have much sympathy for the comments that provoked him, smarmy and repugnant as they were. However the response was still ill advised given the likes of the Daily Mail will be all over this story as they hate Stephen for being cleverer than them.
I can be nasty about celebrities, but when they bite back i say they “fly off the handle.” Someone call a waaaaaaaaambulance!!!!
Calling someone ‘somewhat opportunistic’ is pretty mild criticism. Fry’s reaction was totally out of order. I wonder why everyone is so vocally defending him?
if I were Mr. Chambers, I would tell Mr. Yiannopoulos to sod off!