Rosie Jones says she gets ‘more hate’ than ‘any other comedian’ as she is disabled
Comedian routinely gets inundated with abuse after panel show appearances
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Your support makes all the difference.Rosie Jones has said she gets “more hate” than “perhaps any other comedian” as she is disabled.
The comedy star, who recently condemned the “same old ableism” after she was inundated with abuse following an appearance on Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz of the Year, opened up about living with cerebral palsy in a new interview.
While praising the support given to her by her comedy peers, including Katherine Ryan, Nish Kumar, James Acaster and Joe Lycett, Jones reflected on the negative side of her fame, stating: “Of course for all the support I do get, I get an awful lot of negativity and abuse too, perhaps more than any other comedian going right now.”
Jones said that being a woman in comedy is challenging enough, but stated: “When you’re disabled like me, with a speech difference, that opens up even more hate.”
Reflecting on why this might be, Jones told The Times: “Perhaps when you are disabled, society either feels as though it should feel sorry for you or else celebrate you for being a hero at the Paralympics. I don’t fall into either of those camps. I’m a comedian; I’m not particularly inspirational and I’m also not a victim. So what am I to people?”
Jones said that these “trolls” are “angry at the world” and might feel triggered by seeing Jones “being unapologetically myself, swearing, talking about having sex and living my dream”.
While the comedian, who is a vocal campaigner against ableism and frequently calls out trolls who attack her during TV appearances, says she has “learnt how to deal with it” and “rationalise it”, she says she “hates that ny mum has to see it”.
In December, Jones hit out at those who criticised her appearance on annual panel show The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
“Rinse and repeat,” she posted to X/Twitter. “Different telly show, same old ableism. Thanks for the support, but I’m gonna lie low for a bit and sink into the perineum of Christmas and New Year.”
Jones previously received similar criticism from trolls following her appearance on The Royal Variety Performance earlier that month.
At the time, she wrote: “Thank you for all of the lovely messages about The Royal Variety last night, what fun. Less of a thanks to the not so lovely ones.
“Comedy is subjective and it’s ok if I’m not your cup of tea. But please remember the difference between personal preference and downright ableism.”
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