Stephen Fry leaves Twitter - and comes back again - after Hampstead Heath furore
STEPHEN Fry has quit social networking site Twitter after his comments about how homosexual liasons on Hampstead Heath are proof positive that women do not enjoy sex caused a furore in the press.
The comments, made in the November issue of Attiude Magazine, have provoked anger from North London feminists and exasperation from Fry.
In a candid interview Fry with the magazine declared: “If women liked sex as much as men, there would be straight cruising areas in the way there are gay cruising areas. Women would go and hang around in churchyards thinking: ‘God, I’ve got to get my f****** rocks off’, or they’d go to Hampstead Heath and meet strangers to shag behind a bush.
“It doesn’t happen. Why? Because the only women you can have sex with like that wish to be paid for it.”
His comments were republished in the Observer accompanied by infuriated responses from feminist authors.
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Rosie Boycott, the journalist and feminist, branded the remarks “rubbish.”
She said: “Women are just as capable as men are of enjoying sex. We don’t go cruising or cottaging on Hampstead Heath because we don’t need to. Cottaging on Hampstead Heath is presumably a hangover from the days when, sadly, [homosexuality] was illegal.
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She continued: “Having said which, we probably also do it in parks sometimes too. It’s just that we don’t call it cottaging. I’m sure I’ve done it in parks in my time.”
Hampstead feminist psychotherapist Susie Orbach said: “I’m really intrigued by his notion that men’s sexuality is disgusting in some way. Why would he believe that women could be so disgusted by men? Does he think there is something disgusting about sex?”
Fry hit back at the coverage saying he had been misquoted. On social networking site twitter he said: “So some f****** paper misquotes a humorous interview I gave, which itself misquoted me and now I’m the Antichrist.” He continued “I give up.”
To the horror of his almost 2 million followers the next message, posted on Sunday afternoon, read simply: “Bye Bye.”
The biography on his account now reads ‘no longer in service.’
However, as of Thursday afternoon it appeared all had been forgive and Fry was ready to return to the site. His page now reads “normal service being resumed...” and the picture of his face is has replaced the wooden slats of the last few days.
