British icon Stephen Fry has been blasted online after his controversial comments surrounding sexual abuse on American chat show Rubin Report in the U.S.

Speaking to host Dave Rubin, the knowledgeable QI presenter spoke about how he thought free speech was dying as everybody tip toes over “trigger words.”

Rubin asked the 58-year-old his opinion on what he described as “the regressive left, coming after language and free speech,” particularly from the perspective of the United Kingdom.

Stephen Fry said: “We fear that it’s going to happen more and more because America leads and Britain follows in all kinds of ways.

“I think it started to happen in Britain with the attempted removal of statues of people who are considered unlikable – who were once beloved – and have become in a very 1984 way, ‘unpersons’.”

He also gave his opinion that today’s society need to mature, describing a “deep infantilism” within the generations below him.

And continuing on from that centre of conversation, he delved into discussing sexual abuse, in which his words caused a stir on social media:

“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, you can’t read it in an English class, or you can’t watch 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.”

He went on: “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.”

Fry added that he thought self-pity to an ugly side of human emotions: “The irony is we’ll feel sorry for you, if you stop feeling sorry for yourself. Grow up.”

Not surprisingly, many did not take to his brazen approach to sexual abuse victims:

Mind – the mental health charity of which Stephen Fry is the President – have also responded to his controversial comments.

They put out a statement reading: “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.

“As President of Mind, Stephen Fry has done a huge amount to raise awareness and understanding about bipolar disorder and other mental health problems

“We will be speaking to Stephen to discuss the concerns our supporters have raised.“

Read the full statement HERE.

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