Comic makes Channel 4 film about the 'horrific ferocity’ of online abuse

Rosie Jones is to make an ‘unflinchingly personal’ film about the vile abuse she receives online.

Entitled, Am I A Retard?, the Channel 4 documentary will focus on the ​trolls who attack her online with ‘horrific ferocity’, including rape and death threats, because of her disability.

The broadcaster says: ‘In this unflinchingly personal film, Rosie, who has cerebral palsy, sets out to try to understand how prevalent disability trolling is in the UK, and why it’s often left completely unchecked.

‘She sets herself the challenge of confronting a ​troll directly, as well as exploring the role social media has to play in the rise of this abuse.’

Last month, Jones spoke out about the ‘exhausting’ levels of abuse she receives whenever she appears on TV, especially on Question Time.

She told the BBC’s Access All podcast that she received ‘literally every ableist abuse under the sun. They told me that I should be in a cage. I shouldn’t be on TV. I should die. And it was because I was exposing myself to a different kind of audience. I think Question Time is brilliant but it attracts a lot of angry people.’

She said those viewers tend to get ​furious with her for being ‘female, disabled and gay’, which they vent online, and that it was hard to be her ‘normal positive self’ among such comments.

‘Every time I’m on TV I’ll get a comment about what I sound like, my disability, my weight, and then what I look like, my teeth, my hair, and then the gay stuff... It’s so hard.’

Channel 4 unveiled details of the film at its Content Showcase today, calling it ‘a call to arms for all of us to play our part in ending the suffering of those who are abused simply because of their disability’

The documentary, made by Twofour, is expected to air next month.

Published: 18 Apr 2023