He told Ellen DeGeneres that he wants his fans to come up with a more "empowering" collective name.
Speaking to the talk-show host yesterday, Cumberbatch said: "It’s like trying to squeeze a confession out of me getting me to actually say that word, because I squirm a little bit about it.
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"I definitely didn't [come up with it]. That's part of my problem with it. I just went: 'Ladies, this is wonderful. I'm very flattered, but has this not set feminism back a little bit? Empower yourselves if you're going to get silly about a guy with maybe a little bit more of a sort of, you know, a high-regard, self-regarding name!'"
The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Show all 12
The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
1/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
The role that catapulted him to global fame: As a modern-day Sherlock Holmes in BBC drama Sherlock
BBC
2/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch stars alongside Keira Knightley in Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game
StudioCanal
3/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch bore an uncanny resemblance to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate (2013)
Frank Connor/DreamWorks
4/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
As Stephen Hawking in the 2004 BBC television film following the physicist's early years at Cambridge University
YouTube/BBC
5/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch dresses ominously as Richard III for The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses
sherlock-series.livejournal.com
6/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Jonny Lee Miller as the Creature and Cumberbatch as Dr Frankenstein at the National Theatre in 2011
Rex
7/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch took on the role of tortured artist Vincent van Gogh in Alan Yentob's 2011 BBC drama-documentary Van Gogh: Painted With Words
YouTube/BBC
8/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch as the idealistic Christopher Tietjens in 2012's Parade's End
Rex
9/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Looking sharp as John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Zade Rosenthal
10/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
With Adelaide Clemens in BBC Edwardian period drama Parade's End
Nick Briggs/BBC
11/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor in Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave, which won Best Film at the 2014 Oscars
AP
12/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
As confectionery millionaire and rapist Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007); Sherlock creator Steven Moffat said he wanted Cumberbatch for the detective series after watching the film
YouTube/Universal Pictures
1/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
The role that catapulted him to global fame: As a modern-day Sherlock Holmes in BBC drama Sherlock
BBC
2/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch stars alongside Keira Knightley in Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game
StudioCanal
3/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch bore an uncanny resemblance to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate (2013)
Frank Connor/DreamWorks
4/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
As Stephen Hawking in the 2004 BBC television film following the physicist's early years at Cambridge University
YouTube/BBC
5/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch dresses ominously as Richard III for The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses
sherlock-series.livejournal.com
6/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Jonny Lee Miller as the Creature and Cumberbatch as Dr Frankenstein at the National Theatre in 2011
Rex
7/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Cumberbatch took on the role of tortured artist Vincent van Gogh in Alan Yentob's 2011 BBC drama-documentary Van Gogh: Painted With Words
YouTube/BBC
8/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch as the idealistic Christopher Tietjens in 2012's Parade's End
Rex
9/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Looking sharp as John Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Zade Rosenthal
10/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
With Adelaide Clemens in BBC Edwardian period drama Parade's End
Nick Briggs/BBC
11/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
Alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor in Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave, which won Best Film at the 2014 Oscars
AP
12/12 The many faces of Benedict Cumberbatch
As confectionery millionaire and rapist Paul Marshall in Atonement (2007); Sherlock creator Steven Moffat said he wanted Cumberbatch for the detective series after watching the film
YouTube/Universal Pictures
But his fans insisted they didn’t mean any harm. Cumberbatch said: "They were very sweet. They wrote back and were like: 'Well we didn't mean any harm to feminism! We're just having a little bit of fun with your name.'"
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