Editing Stephen Fry (section)

===Politics===
Fry was an active supporter of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] for many years and appeared in a [[party political broadcast]] on its behalf with [[Hugh Laurie]] and [[Michelle Collins]] in November 1993. He did not vote in the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]] because of the stance of both the Labour and [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] parties with regard to the [[Iraq War]]. Despite his praise of the [[Tony Blair|Blair]]/[[Gordon Brown|Brown]] government's work on social reform, Fry was an outspoken critic of the Labour Party's [[Third Way]] concept. Fry appeared in campaign literature to support changing the British electoral system from [[first-past-the-post]] to [[alternative vote]] for electing members of parliament to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] in the [[2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum|Alternative Vote referendum]] of 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12950712|title=Benjamin Zephaniah 'airbrushed from Yes to AV leaflets'|work=BBC News|date=3 April 2011}}</ref>

On 30 April 2008, Fry signed an open letter, published in ''[[The Guardian]]'' newspaper by a number of Jewish personalities, stating their opposition to celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.<ref>{{cite news|author=Close|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/apr/30/israelandthepalestinians|title=''The Guardian'': We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary|work=The Guardian|access-date=4 February 2009| location=London| date=30 April 2008}}</ref> Furthermore, he is a signatory member of the British [[Jews for Justice for Palestinians]] (JJP) organisation, which campaigns for [[Palestinian]] rights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jfjfp.com/?page_id=9|title=Signatories|publisher=jfjfp.com|access-date=8 November 2009}}</ref> Fry was among over 100 signatories to a statement published by [[Sense about Science]] on 4 June 2009, condemning British [[libel laws]] and their use to "severely curtail the right to free speech on a matter of public interest".<ref>{{cite web|title=The law has no place in scientific disputes|url=http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/334|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607021143/http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/project/334|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 June 2009|publisher=Sense about Science|date=7 October 2009|access-date=12 October 2009}}</ref>

In August 2013, Fry published an open letter to [[David Cameron]], the British Prime Minister, and the [[International Olympic Committee]] calling for a boycott of the [[2014 Winter Olympics]] in [[Sochi]], due to concerns over the [[LGBT rights in Russia|state-sanctioned persecution of LGBT people in Russia]] under the [[Russian gay propaganda law|2013 anti-"gay propaganda" laws]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stephen-fry-me.tumblr.com/post/57612770175/open-letter-to-david-cameron-and-the-ioc|title=Stephen Fry|work=tumblr.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810124308/http://stephen-fry-me.tumblr.com/post/57612770175/open-letter-to-david-cameron-and-the-ioc|archive-date=10 August 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Buckley |first1=Neil |title=Stephen Fry calls for Russia to lose Olympics over anti-gay law |url=https://www.ft.com/content/4a4311fa-ff8c-11e2-b990-00144feab7de |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/4a4311fa-ff8c-11e2-b990-00144feab7de |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=24 April 2022 |work=[[Financial Times]] |date=7 August 2013}}</ref> Cameron stated on Twitter he believed "we can better challenge prejudice as we attend, rather than boycotting the Winter Olympics".<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 August 2013 |title=Russian Antigay Law Protested |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/sports/russian-antigay-law-protested.html |access-date=18 March 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Cameron rejects Stephen Fry's call for Russian Winter Olympics boycott |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/aug/10/cameron-rejects-stephen-fry-russia-winter-games-boycott |newspaper=The Guardian |date=10 August 2013 |access-date=17 August 2013}}</ref> Fry said in 2015 that the ''Daily Mail'' editor [[Paul Dacre]] "has done more to damage the Britain I love than any single person".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Fry|first=Stephen|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/06/stephen-fry-dont-fool-me-proust-questionnaire|title=Stephen Fry's Most Treasured Possession Is from P.G. Wodehouse|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=July 2015|access-date=29 December 2017}}</ref>

In March 2014, Fry publicly backed "[[Hacked Off]]" and its campaign towards press self-regulation by "safeguarding the press from political interference while also giving vital protection to the vulnerable".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/benedict-cumberbatch-alfonso-cuaron-maggie-689289 | work=The Hollywood Reporter | first=Georg | last=Szalai | title=Benedict Cumberbatch, Alfonso Cuaron, Maggie Smith Back U.K. Press Regulation | date=18 March 2014}}</ref>

In 2016 he caused controversy by accusing survivors of child sexual abuse of self-pity for expecting trigger warnings.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/stephen-fry-which-child-sexual-abuse-victim-do-you-think-changed-their-mind-about-trigger-warnings-when-you-told-them-to-grow-up-a6980546.html|title=Stephen Fry, which child sexual abuse victim do you think changed their mind about trigger warnings when you told them to 'grow up'?|work=[[The Independent]]|first=Harriet|last=Williamson|author-link=Harriet Williamson|date=12 April 2016|access-date=4 January 2025|language=en-gb}}</ref> Soon after he apologised for his comments.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/stephen-fry-apologises-unreservedly-for-claiming-sex-abuse-survivors-should-grow-up-and-stop-pitying-themselves-a6983651.html|title=Stephen Fry apologises 'unreservedly' for claiming sex abuse survivors should 'grow up' and stop pitying themselves|work=[[The Independent]]|first=Heather|last=Saul|date=14 April 2016|access-date=4 January 2025|language=en-gb}}</ref>

On 18 May 2018, Fry participated in the semi-annual [[Munk Debates]] in Toronto, Canada, where he argued against [[political correctness]] on the ''Con'' side of the topic "Be it resolved, what you call political correctness, I call progress..." alongside [[Jordan Peterson]], and in opposition to ''Pro'' side represented by [[Michelle Goldberg]] and [[Michael Eric Dyson]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.munkdebates.com/The-Debates/Political-Correctness | title=Munk Debates – Political Correctness | work=The Munk Debates | date=18 May 2018 | access-date=31 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204045148/https://www.munkdebates.com/The-Debates/Political-Correctness | archive-date=4 December 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/a-politically-incorrect-debate-about-political-correctness-1.4683963 | title=A politically incorrect debate about political correctness | work=CBC Radio | date=30 May 2018 | access-date=31 October 2018}}</ref> During the debate, Fry [[paraphrase]]d a famous sentence from the 1923 essay ''I Am Afraid'', in which [[Old Bolshevik]]-turned-[[Soviet dissident]] [[Yevgeny Zamyatin]] denounced [[censorship in the Soviet Union]]. The original sentence reads, "True literature can exist only when it is created, not by diligent and reliable officials, but by madmen, hermits, heretics, dreamers, rebels and skeptics."<ref>"I Am Afraid" (1921) p. 57, in: ''A Soviet Heretic''. trans. Mirra Ginsberg [[University of Chicago]] Press. (1970). p. 53-58</ref> Fry's rendering, however, reads, "Progress is not achieved by preachers and guardians of morality, but by madmen, hermits, heretics, dreamers, rebels, and sceptics."<ref>[https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2018/10/19/against-political-correctness-stephen-fry/ AGAINST POLITICAL CORRECTNESS] – BY STEPHEN FRY
19 October 2018.</ref>

On 1 February 2021, Fry supported the petition of two [[Holocaust survivors]], Dorit Oliver-Wolff and Ruth Barnett who were asking to meet Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]] regarding the 'genocide amendment' to the trade bill; this amendment would allow an independent parliamentary judicial committee to examine evidence of [[genocide]].<ref>{{cite news|date=23 February 2021|title=Holocaust survivors demand meeting with PM over 'genocide amendment' as government faces Lord defeat|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/holocaust-genocide-amendment-boris-johnson-b1806131.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/holocaust-genocide-amendment-boris-johnson-b1806131.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=1 March 2021|website=The Independent|language=en}}</ref> In a tweet, Fry highlighted the [[Persecution of Uyghurs in China|plight of the Uyghurs]].<ref>{{cite tweet|user=stephenfry|title=As holocaust survivors, Ruth Barnett and Dorit Wolf know all too well what genocide is|number=1366325396103434241|date=1 March 2021}}</ref>

Fry has spoken out publicly in support of the return of the [[Elgin Marbles]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sanderson |first=David |date=30 May 2022 |title=Stephen Fry: Be classy and return the Elgin Marbles |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/art/article/stephen-fry-be-classy-and-return-the-elgin-marbles-mj2zmxgrj |url-access=subscription |access-date=31 May 2022 |work=[[The Times]] |language=en |issn=0140-0460 |quote=He said the return of the statues from Britain "would be an act that uses a word that we haven't been able to use of Britain's acts lately, much: it would be classy".}}</ref>

''' Poland controversy '''
{{see also|The Holocaust in Poland}}
On 6 October 2009, Fry was interviewed by [[Jon Snow (journalist)|Jon Snow]] on ''[[Channel 4 News]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/fryaposs+fears+over+toriesapos+antigay+links/3374297|title=Fry's fears over Tories' anti-gay links|publisher=Channel 4|access-date=9 October 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091009105313/http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/fryaposs%2Bfears%2Bover%2Btoriesapos%2Bantigay%2Blinks/3374297|archive-date=9 October 2009}}</ref> as a signatory of a letter to [[British Conservative Party]] leader [[David Cameron]] expressing concern about the party forming a political alliance with the right-wing Polish [[Law and Justice]] party in the [[European Parliament]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Charter|first= David|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/right-wing-polish-mep-michal-kaminski-becomes-tories-controversial-eu-leader-cdrnsq62kgx|title=Right-wing Polish MEP Michal Kaminski becomes Tories controversial EU leader|access-date=19 January 2025| location=London| date=16 July 2009}}</ref> During the interview, he stated:
{{blockquote|There has been a history, let's face it, in Poland of a right-wing [[Catholic Church in Poland|Catholicism]] which has been deeply disturbing for those of us who know a little history, and remember which side of [[Germany–Poland border|the border]] Auschwitz was on and know the stories, and know much of the [[Anti-Semitism in Poland|anti-semitic]], and [[Homophobia in Poland|homophobic]] and [[Polish nationalism|nationalistic]] elements in countries like Poland.}}
The remark prompted a complaint from the [[Polish Embassy in London]], an editorial in ''[[The Economist]]'' and criticism from British Jewish historian [[David Cesarani]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14635055|title=Europe.view: Unoccupied Britain|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|access-date=17 October 2009|date=15 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=David |last=Ceserani|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/12/stephen-fry-auschwitz-poland|title=Stephen Fry's Auschwitz blunder|work=The Guardian |date=13 October 2009|access-date=17 October 2009| location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Day|first= Matthew|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/6274395/Stephen-Fry-provokes-Polish-fury-over-Auschwitz-remark.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/6274395/Stephen-Fry-provokes-Polish-fury-over-Auschwitz-remark.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Stephen Fry provokes Polish fury over Auschwitz remark|access-date=9 October 2009| date=8 October 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/complaints+fry+aposslanderedapos+poland+over+auschwitz/3377697|title=Complaints: Fry 'slandered' Poland over Auschwitz|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|access-date=9 October 2009|archive-date=12 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012075722/http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/domestic_politics/complaints%2Bfry%2Baposslanderedapos%2Bpoland%2Bover%2Bauschwitz/3377697|url-status=dead}}</ref> Fry later posted an apology in a six-page post on his personal blog, in which he apologised for his remarks, stating that "I didn't even really at the time notice the import of what I had said, so gave myself no opportunity instantly to retract the statement. It was a rubbishy, cheap and offensive remark that I have been regretting ever since. I take this opportunity to apologise now." and "It detracted from and devalued my argument, such as it was, and it outraged and offended a large group of people for no very good reason."<ref name="stephenfry.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.stephenfry.com/2009/10/19/poles-politeness-and-politics-in-the-age-of-twitter/|title=Poles, Politeness and Politics in the age of Twitter|access-date=19 October 2009|date=19 October 2009}}</ref>