is a 2023 British documentary by the comedian Rosie Jones about online hate speech against disabled people. She reads messages written about her, which use slurs such as retard, and explores the emotional effect of harassment, the inaction by social media companies and the motivations behind people who send these messages.
The programme, which aired on Channel 4, is targeted at non-disabled people with low awareness of ableism. Jones has cerebral palsy (CP) and found it emotionally difficult to make. She began therapy during the production and began to understand how she used humour as a coping mechanism.
The documentary received widespread criticism for its title, with three disabled contributors withdrawing over it. Reviewers praised the documentary's aim to raise awareness. However, they commented that only one disabled person other than Jones appears and that the scenes involving Twitter and an interview with an internet troll did not have the desired impact.
Background
Rosie Jones is a British comedian with ataxic cerebral palsy. The documentary is based on her experiences of online hate speech she has received through her television work and public appearances. It was announced in March 2022 alongside a second series of Trip Hazard: My Great British Adventure and an upcoming cooking programme Dine Hard, two of Jones' other projects. It was initially described as a documentary about abuse on social media and societal attitudes towards disability. A BAFTA screening took place in June 2023 and the documentary premiered on 20 July.
Jones said that the documentary's target audience was non-disabled people who are unaware of ableism and use offensive language. She believed that most people could define other forms of prejudice, such as racism and sexism, but not ableism.
It was directed by Tom Levinge. Jones said the filming made her realise that she used jokes to "break the tension" and avoid serious realities. Levinge told her not to respond with humour when shown the harassing social media messages about her. Jones described the documentary as the most difficult piece of media to make in her career, and said she was in therapy because of the subject matter. It made her confront her anger at experiencing discrimination and facts that she had "perhaps kept in a drawer". Therapy allowed her to say: "sometimes I am a victim".
Title
Before the documentary's release, the title was widely discussed due to its use of the ableist slur retard. Jones said the title was her idea, to highlight the unacceptability of the slur, which is regularly shouted at her on the street and used in social media harassment against her. Channel 4 said that the term's use was "carefully considered" by the editorial team. Jones said the title is "not used to shock", but is designed to "take control" of the word. The disability consultant Ally Castle said that "provoking and challenging" were central to Channel 4's aims to "push boundaries and prompt conversation". Castle said it was not clickbait but "relevant to the subject, story and objective of the film".
Three contributors—all disabled models—withdrew consent to be featured after filming when they learned of the title. The Daily Mirror disability rights columnist Rachel Charlton-Dailey believed that the title could lead people "who already use that word so freely" to "see this as a license to use it again". The presenter Mik Scarlet thought the documentary "will end up being devalued by its title", comparing it to the unintended consequences of Blue Peters coverage of Joey Deacon. Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph said that the controversy will have had the effect desired by Channel 4 executives: increasing interest in the programme.
James Taylor, a staff member for the charity Scope, commented that Jones had a right to address the topic, as the word has been used against her, but that the arguments it had created within disabled communities were unfortunate. In reaction to criticism that Jones should not use the word retard as it refers to people with learning disabilities, she said: "the abusers do not care I have CP and I'm not intellectually disabled".
Synopsis
Rosie Jones opens by explaining why the documentary title uses "the R-word" and the harm it causes. She wears headphones when out in public to avoid hearing the harassment that is shouted at her. The documentary covers Jones' early television appearances and the abusive social media posts made in response, which nearly made her quit comedy.