Rosie Jones has defended the use of an ableist slur in the title of her upcoming documentary, insisting she has chosen to use it to highlight how damaging the term is.
The comedian, who has cerebral palsy, hopes her Channel 4 doc, titled Rosie Jones: Am I a R*****?, aims to explore and educate viewers on the online abuse faced by those with disabilities.
However, the show’s title has already caused controversy with three contributors asking to be removed from it due to its use of the offensive word.
Addressing the use of the slur in the documentary’s title, Jones told the RadioTimes: “I decided to use it specifically because it is a highly offensive word and one that should be taken as seriously as all other derogatory words.”
The TV star also explained how she experiences prejudice every day, whether it’s from a taxi driver who refuses to take her because they assume she’s drunk or whether it’s people in the street “calling me a r**ard”.
The Yorkshire-born writer also told PA how she wanted to use the slur in the doc’s title to take control of the term, which she said is a word used “every day” towards her.
She shared: “I need to say, first and foremost: it was my choice, my idea. I really wanted to take control of it and say, ‘This is not OK’... I understand that some people may be offended, or will be very upset by it, but at the same time, it is unfortunately still a word that has been used every day towards me.
“I fundamentally believe that people don’t take ableist slurs as seriously as other slurs, so I decided to put it in the title so that hopefully people will still realise how offensive it is.
“This might sound very rude, I do hope disabled people watch it, but if I’m honest, this documentary is not for disabled people, ‘cause they already know all this s***. They don’t need to be reminded of the s*** we deal with every day.
“This is a film for non-disabled people who don’t know what ableism is... It is for non-disabled people who think it’s okay to sling that term and other equally abusive, ableist words in the pub willy-nilly. It is for them to see that it’s not OK.”
Jones empathised with other members of the disabled community who have spoken out against her using the word.
Nonetheless, the choice of title has caused so much controversy that three disabled influencers scheduled to take part in the documentary have withdrawn from it.
“Talking about ableism on mainstream TV is obviously something that needs to be discussed but the way it’s happened isn’t something that I can support and all three of us spoke out against them,” said social media influencer and model Shelby Lynch.
“I didn’t want anything to do with the documentary unless the name was changed and we went backwards and forwards for what feels like for ever.
“I cried so many tears over this situation as I was terrified that I would let the disabled community down and nothing would hurt me more.”
Secondly, ballerina and model Kate Stanforth wrote on Instagram: “Myself and a number of influencers were originally part of the new Rosie Jones documentary which is due to air soon.
“There have been a number of issues raised throughout the process, which led to myself and all my friends to withdraw consent to use our material.”
Fellow model and prospective contributor, Lucy Dawson, acknowledged the importance of addressing the topic but said that she “definitely won’t be watching because it’s gonna be too triggering regardless of if it’s good or bad for me now because of what went on behind the scenes — a lot of what I haven’t even scratched the surface with”.
