Comedian Rosie Jones faces backlash over ableist slur in title of new Channel 4 documentary

Comedian Rosie Jones has sparked outrage due to the title of her Channel 4 documentary, because it contains an ableist slur. The documentary from Jones, who has ataxic cerebral palsy, is named ‘Rosie Jones: Am I A R*tard’.

The 33-year-old took to both Instagram and twitter to explain the reason behind using the word in the name of her documentary, which focuses on online abuse against disabled people.

She said: “The title of the film has a very shocking word in it, the R word. And I get it, a lot of people will find this word very shocking and upsetting. But, in my opinion, society doesn’t take this word and other ableist forms of language as seriously as any other form of abuse from any other minorities.

”So, I said to Channel 4: ‘Let’s do it, let’s tackle the problem head on and use that word in the title and then, hopefully, people will think twice about using the word and other ableist slurs ever again’.”

People have been sharing their thoughts on the name, with autistic activist and author Sarah O’Brien saying: “We’re not at a point of being able to reclaim or use the r-word. It still severely harms members of the disabled community, particularly those with a learning disability.”

Fashion and beauty influencer, Shelby Lynch, spent some time working on the programme and was among those with concerns over the title. She eventually pulled out of filming.