Stephen Fry: Girls who had sex with rock stars at 14 wouldn't call themselves victims – they were proud of it
Fry was addressing the 'huge moral difference' between being investigated on historic drugs charges and historic sexual abuse charges on Newsnight
Thursday 02 October 2014
Stephen Fry has accused establishment organisations of being "so horrified by their own lack of judgement" over the scale of DJ Jimmy Savile's sexual abuse that they have turned against similar figures in entertainment for less serious offences.
Speaking to Evan Davies on BBC Newsnight about the "huge moral difference" between historical drug use and historical cases of sexual abuse, he made the comments in response to claims he should be arrested after he admitted to taking cocaine at Buckingham Palace and the House of Lords in his new memoir, More Fool Me.
"If people think I should be arrested for historical drug abuse, that's fine. I'm the only person I hurt," he said.
"I do personally see a huge moral difference between invading somebody's physical space, raping them, groping them against their will, having sex with when they're under age, and me feeding my face with stuff that did me harm."
Fry said the case of Savile, a man he described as "an absolutely monstrous, depraved and repulsive piece of work", had left the establishment deeply paranoid about similar figures and their historic sexual activities.
"If you want to talk about rock stars, do we have to name the rock stars that we think almost certainly had sex with 14-year-old children?
"But those 14-year-old girls were so proud of it that they now in their 50s wouldn't for a minute call themselves 'victims'."
He went to say he believes it is wrong to use the term "victims" for those who claim to have been sexually assaulted "before the case has even come to court, before certain figures have even been charged".
"If they're guilty then quite clearly there should be evidence, but they shouldn't be hung out like fly paper to try to attract other 'oh yeah, I think he touched me too when I was that age.'"
Asked whether he was concerned about being accused of such crimes himself, as a public figure in entertainment circles for the past few decades, Fry replied: "I've always thought them pretty repulsive things to do. I've never groped anyone as far as I'm aware. But groping is not the same as penetrative rape.
"Again, things are nuanced and it's pretty grotesque to grope especially an underage child who doesn't quite know what's happening to them.
"But it's not as grotesque as raping them. And the law has to be clear on that. Suddenly, everyone isn't Jimmy Savile just because they may have patted somebody's bottom, you know."
Read More: Fry On 'Enormous' Time & Money Spent On Cocaine
FRY CALLS MASS GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE "SQUALID"
Stephen Fry 'Mildly Miffed' Naked Pictures Of Him Weren't Leaked
- 1 Homo erectus engraving could re-write human history, and might show art began 300,000 years earlier than we knew
- 2 Forget everything you know about nice, liberal Sweden — that country no longer exists
- 3 North Korea accuses US of spreading Ebola and choosing Africa as a bio-weapon testing ground
- 4 A long list of sex acts just got banned in UK porn
- 5 A bottle of wine a day is not bad for you and abstaining is worse than drinking, scientist claims
-
North Korea's cyber spies exposed: Inside the secretive cyber-warfare cell Bureau 121
-
Homo erectus engraving could re-write human history, and might show art began 300,000 years earlier than we knew
-
North Korea accuses US of spreading Ebola and choosing Africa as a bio-weapon testing ground
-
The whiplash backlash: it’s not as if we’re hurting anyone (else)
-
A long list of sex acts just got banned in UK porn
-
British Muslims face worst job discrimination of any minority group, according to research
-
Forget everything you know about nice, liberal Sweden — that country no longer exists
-
Gauhar Khan slapped live on air by man from the audience for wearing revealing clothes
-
'Poor' Nigel Farage finds it hard to get by on £109,000 a year plus expenses
-
A long list of sex acts just got banned in UK porn
-
Ukip leader Nigel Farage clashes with audience members as he tries to engage with young voters
WIN a trip for two to Cuba
Follow Simon Calder's journey in Cuba, and enter our competition to win a trip for two to Cuba
Caribbean luxury at its finest
Barbados offers a new slice of holiday heaven at Port Ferdnand and Saint Peter's Bay Luxury Resorts
Rainbow list 2014: The LBGT people who make a real difference
Introducing our annual celebration of the lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender people who make a real difference
i100: Who makes your world a better place?
Tweet us the people who deserve some recognition to @thei100 with the hashtag #everydayhero and tell us why.
2014 WISE Summit
For the past four years, Qatar Foundation has been awarding an international prize for education each year, the first award of its kind in the world. Find out more...
Build yourself a brighter future
Chartered surveyors will be critical to shaping our new world
i100 Quiz: How much do you know about time?
True or False: Sloths sleep more than all other animals...
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Independent Dating
iJobs People
h2 Recruit Ltd: Business Development Manager - HR Consultancy - £65,000 OTE
£35000 - £40000 per annum + £65,000 OTE: h2 Recruit Ltd: London, Birmingham, M...
Day In a Page
Al-Jazeera journalists imprisoned by Egypt to ‘teach Qatar a lesson’
An asylum seeker's voyage through hell
Help the ex-service personnel to whom we all owe so much
The defining font of 2014
So what difference will the Autumn Statement make to your finances?
Iran joins ‘Great Satan’s’ fight against Isis













