Comments on God Could Spell Trouble for Stephen Fry

Irish police are investigating Fry's 2015 interview for blasphemy
By Gina Carey,  Newser Staff
Posted May 7, 2017 4:53 PM CDT

Funnyman Stephen Fry may be in hot water in Ireland for comments made during an interview where he candidly calls out someone not to be trifled with on the Emerald Isle: God. Irish police are investigating Fry's February 2015 interview on the RTÉ show The Meaning of Life as it relates to Ireland's Defamation Act 2009, which criminalizes publishing or uttering blasphemous material, reports the Independent. In response to interviewer Gay Byrne's question asking what he would say to God if he met "him, her, or it" at heaven's gates, Fry replies frankly. "Bone cancer in children? What's that about? How dare you create a world in which there is such misery? It's not right. It's utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?"

Fry went on to call God "totally selfish" and an "utter maniac." The Guardian reports it spoke with the unnamed citizen who reported the interview to police. When asked by the police if he was personally offended by the comments, the person said no, stating "I simply believed that the comments made by Fry on RTÉ were criminal blasphemy and that I was doing my civic duty by reporting a crime." That reporting happened more than two years ago but the citizen says he was only now contacted by a detective who said the claim is being reviewed. After the 2015 interview, Fry commented that he hadn’t meant to offend with his comments, but was "most pleased" it got people talking. If found guilty, Fry would likely have to pay a fine, with the law’s maximum penalty set at $27,500. (More crime stories.)

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