Rosie Jones has defended the title of her new documentary amid a growing backlash over its use of an ableist slur.
The comedian, who has cerebral palsy, has filmed a yet-to-be-released doc for Channel 4 about the abuse and discrimination people with disabilities face in the UK.
The film is titled Rosie Jones: Am I A R****d?, a name which hasn’t gone down well with everyone.
Since the title was announced, some contributors to the documentary have spoken out against the decision to include the slur in its name, and even had their scenes removed.
Rosie has now defended the controversial title in a video posted on Twitter, explaining: “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.”
She continued: “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.”
The video was accompanied by a tweet which read: “My documentary, ‘Rosie Jones: Am I a R*tard?’ is coming to Channel 4 soon. This is the toughest thing I have ever made, but I am incredibly proud of it.
“I cannot wait for you to see this important piece of television. Here’s why I chose to put an ableist slur in the title.”
Influencer and model Shelby Lynch, who had contributed to the doc, also posted about the controversy on Instagram.
She wrote over the weekend: “As some of you may know, we were asked to take part in a documentary about Ableism and Online Trolling with a well-known disabled comedian.
“Talking about ableism on mainstream TV is obviously something that needs to be discussed but the way it’s happened isn’t something that I can support and all three of us spoke out against them.”
Shelby continued: “I didn’t want anything to do with the documentary unless the name was changed and we went backwards and forwards for what feels like forever.
“I cried so many tears over this situation as I was terrified that I would let the disabled community down and nothing would hurt me more.”
Referring to herself and fellow contributors Kate Stanforth and Lucy Dawson, Shelby added: “Ultimately we decided that the three of us would be removed from the documentary instead of the name being changed.
“I really hope you understand that we did all we could to change the title but unfortunately we weren’t listened to.”
A Channel 4 spokesperson told The Independent: “This film is an authored documentary by Rosie Jones to raise awareness and educate viewers about the issue of ableism and the scale of abuse she and other disabled people face daily.
“The use of the R-word in the documentary is within context of the subject matter being explored and specific to the abuse Rosie receives on social media.
“The film makes very clear it is an unacceptable and offensive ableist term and its inclusion was carefully considered in conversations with the editorial team, Rosie and a disability consultant.”
Rosie Jones: Am I a R****d? Is set for release on Channel 4 later this year.