Stephen Fry in police probe... for blasphemy
STEPHEN FRY is being investigated over accusations of blasphemy after a television interview in which he branded God an ‘utter maniac’.
Police in the Irish Republic last night confirmed they have started looking into the comedian’s remarks after a complaint by a viewer.
Broadcaster and novelist Melvyn Bragg rushed to Fry’s defence. He said last night: ‘I think Stephen has every right in the world to make that comment. At a time when Christians in the Middle East, Africa and China are being mercilessly persecuted, it throws up at the very least questions which Stephen has answered in his own intellectually fierce way.’
Writer Hanif Kureishi added: ‘Bunch of **** s and you can quote me.’
Asked in an interview about what he might say to God, Fry said: ‘How dare you create a world in which there is such misery? ‘It’s not our fault. It’s not right. It’s utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?’ Fry, 59, was speaking on a programme called The Meaning Of Life, hosted by Gay Byrne, which was broadcast on Irish channel RTE two years ago. He added: ‘The god who created this universe, if it was created by a god, is quite clearly a maniac, an utter maniac, totally selfish. We have to spend our lives on our knees thanking him. What kind of god would do that?’ He went on to say that if he was met by the Greek gods he would accept them quicker because ‘they didn’t present themselves as being all-seeing, all-wise, all-beneficent’.
Fry, who once played God in the comedy film Holy Flying Circus, is a patron of the British Humanist Association and has never hidden his contempt for organised religion.
Ireland is the only country to have introduced a blasphemy law this century and the offence carries a maximum penalty of €25,000 (£21,000).
The complainant, who has asked not to be identified, has told police he was not personally offended by the comments but felt it was his civic duty to report them. The police have only just launched their investigation.
Fry was unavailable for comment last night. Richy Thompson, of the British Humanist Association, said: ‘This is a ridiculous impingement of his free speech. It is really important that blasphemy laws all around the world are repealed.’