Stephen Fry Investigated For Blasphemy In Ireland
Stephen Fry Image by Getty Images
By Josh Nathan-Kazis May 9, 2017
Stephen Fry. Image by gettyimages
Irish police opened a blasphemy investigation into British comedian Stephen Fry before quickly closing it.
Fry, who is Jewish, told an interviewer on Irish television in 2015 that if God exists, he is “capricious, mean-minded and stupid.”
In recent days, Irish police investigated the remarks to determine whether Fry had broken Irish anti-blasphemy laws. The police closed the investigation on Monday, The New York Times reported.
It’s not clear why the police chose to investigate comments made two years ago.
According to the BBC, news of the investigation drew massive online attention to the old clip of Fry’s interview.
Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
