--- description: British comedian Stephen Fry has quit Twitter amid backlash from a "bag lady" joke he made during the British Academy Film Awards. title: Stephen Fry Just Perfectly Summed Up Everything Wrong With Twitter image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f218f1f00a03a5/69887da45f570f6f80b1fa70/stephen-fry-twitter-quit.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Stephen Fry Quits Twitter After Backlash from 'Bag Lady' Joke  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 15, 2016 7:08 PM CUT  Stephen Fry attends the British Academy Film Awards nominations announcement at BAFTA Piccadilly on Jan. 8, 2016 in London, England. Stephen Fry attends the British Academy Film Awards nominations announcement at BAFTA Piccadilly on Jan. 8, 2016 in London, England.David M. Benett—2016 David M. Benett  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 15, 2016 7:08 PM CUT British comedian Stephen Fry has quit Twitter amid [backlash from a joke he made during the British Academy Film Awards](http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/15/stephen-fry-deletes-twitter-account-after-baftas-bag-lady-offence "undefined") about a costume designer’s appearance. The award show host [announced on his blog](http://www.stephenfry.com/2016/02/15/peedinthepool/ "undefined") that he has deactivated his Twitter account, saying he was “free at last” from the self-righteous social media users who have polluted the platform. Fry blamed the “trolls and nasties” for pushing him to his “tipping point” and ruining the fun of Twitter in a characteristically florid screed against the social media site that quoted poet Rupert Brooke: --- > “” --- Fry’s departure comes after criticism from apparently insulting costume design [award-winner](http://time.com/4224517/bafta-2016-leonardo-dicaprio-revenant/ "undefined") Jenny Beavan’s looks after she left the stage. “Only one of the great cinematic costume designers would come to an awards ceremony dressed as a bag lady,” he said. Fry later explained that it was a joke and that he and Beavan were friends, according to _The Guardian_. He appeared to have no regrets in bidding Twitter farewell. “I don’t feel anything today other than massive relief, like a boulder rolling off my chest. I am free, free at last.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4224826/stephen-fry-twitter-bag-lady/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4224826/stephen-fry-twitter-bag-lady/"},"headline":"Stephen Fry Quits Twitter After Backlash from 'Bag Lady' Joke","datePublished":"2016-02-15T19:08:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:13:50.960Z","description":"He's had enough of the 'trolls and nasties'","url":"https://time.com/4224826/stephen-fry-twitter-bag-lady/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f218f1f00a03a5/69887da45f570f6f80b1fa70/stephen-fry-twitter-quit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57f218f1f00a03a5/69887da45f570f6f80b1fa70/stephen-fry-twitter-quit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"stephen-fry-twitter-quit","caption":"Stephen Fry attends the British Academy Film Awards nominations announcement at BAFTA Piccadilly on Jan. 8, 2016 in London, England.","creditText":"David M. 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