Rosie Jones forced to quit Twitter after 'hurtful' trolling
The stand-up comedian and regular guest on The Last Leg, who has cerebral palsy, experienced frequent ableist abuse on Twitter.
Stand-up comedian Rosie Jones has decided to leave X, formerly known as Twitter, after experiencing another wave of savage trolling on the platform. She said it has been "a long time" since she got any joy from social media.
The 33-year-old comic, who has cerebral palsy, often receives vicious ableist abuse as well as homophobia whenever she appears on TV shows such as The Last Leg and Question Time. On Friday, she announced that she was leaving Twitter and subsequently deleted her account.
Jones had been one of several comedians to trend on the platform in the wake of a viral prompt asking people to identify "a comedian you don't find funny at all". In amongst the opinions was a lot of unpleasant abuse aimed at Jones.
"I've not felt a lot of joy from this social platform in a long time, so to come on and see I'm trending, yet again, is exhausting," she wrote. "I could say comedy is subjective but the truth is the comments are hurtful. I used to love Twitter but I don't care for this centre of hate. Goodbye."
Earlier this year, Jones said she tried to find the positive side of her increased spotlight amid the online abuse while promoting her new panel show Out of Order.
"I’d be lying if I said it didn’t upset me, but luckily I am surrounded by such a strong network of brilliant friends, family, colleagues who support me," she told The Guardian.
"Do I need a thick skin? Yes, I bloody do. But I’m able to switch it off, I don’t look at social media when I’m on TV and I focus on the positives – on the people coming up to me saying ‘I’ve never seen disability portrayed like you do', or if they are disabled, coming up to me and saying: ‘Thank you for making us feel seen and worthy and valid'."
Jones rose to fame as a comedy writer for various panel shows, as well as The Last Leg and Netflix series Sex Education. She then began appearing on the shows herself and performing live comedy.
She has also fronted numerous documentary series, including the controversially titled 'Am I a R****d?', in which she bravely explored ableism and online abuse.
Read more: