Rosie Jones used the word “r*****” in the title of her Channel 4 documentary because it is “upsetting”.
Rosie Jones wants to reclaim ableist slurs
The 33-year-old comedienne suffers from ataxic cerebral palsy - which is caused by caused by damage to cerebellar structures and causes issues with balance and coordination - and is fronting ‘Rosie Jones: Am I A R*****’ documentary but opted to use the “slur word” in the title of her new show in an attempt to take “back control” of something that been used against her entire life.
She told the Metro newspaper’s SixtySeconds column: “We had a lot of concerns, but I’m an executive producer, and that gave me a lot of control creatively, and it was my idea to call it that. I fundamentally believe it is a slur word that isn’t taken as seriously as other offensive words.
“It is a word that has been used towards me for my entire life so it was my way of taking back control and turning it back around on the people who call me that because it is still, unfortunately, a word that I hear all the time. I hope people will understand how upsetting it can be and think twice about using it.”
Rosie admitted that confronting someone who had abused her on the internet was not like meeting a “Disney villain” and rather he was a totally normal person and now thinks that stamping out “ableism” is everyone’s job.
She said: “I think I had an idea in my head and expected to meet a Disney villain and that wasn’t the case. Meeting a troll who says, ‘I was an alcoholic. I have mental health issues. I regret what I did…’ I no longer blame that person If it’s not my fault, is it up to the trolls? Is it up to the social media? Is it up to the police? Is it up to everyone who is a positive ally? The conclusion I’ve come to now is yes, yes, yes and yes. Everyone can stop online abuse and ableism.”
The ‘Would I Lie To You’ panellist revealed she “cannot go anywhere without my headphones” as a way to avoid street harassment.
Rosie said: “Because of my job, if I’m walking home on my own at night, you get more drunk people, and they are more likely to laugh at me an shout ableist slurs or ‘look at her’ or something vaguely sexual, so I cannot go anywhere without my headphones.”