Martin Freeman’s Jokes: A Consistent Pattern of Offense

53 thoughts on “Martin Freeman’s Jokes: A Consistent Pattern of Offense”

1. Ok, this needs to stop, it had reached a ridiculus idioticy! Do people really think he was offensive, like REALLY? You.Can.Imagine.That .Martin Freeman would be sexist? He would rape someone or support rape? This is really idiotic. I’m starting to be more disapointed in the tumblr nation, because first I was ok, no means no, let a gilr wear whatweer she likes but now you cannot even mention rape of sexula harassment, beacause it is sudenly offensive? People sudenly talk about this man, like a criminal, that’s not ok!

   1. At no point in my article did I state that Martin Freeman would rape or support rape. What I did state was that Martin Freeman had offensive humor that made me uncomfortable.

      -Admin Angel

      1. I really need these interviews emailed me hosted on the website that claims to host them before I start hating a man I love so very very much. He is my Watson. I can’t conduct this trail without reviewing the evidence myself

         alanmoore.junkie@yahoo.com

         1. What trial? And what interviews? There are several linked in the article, but I’m not sure what “trials” you are referring to. I’m a little confused. Do you mind clarifying?

            -Admin Angel

   2. You are the problem.

   3. “but now you cannot even mention rape of sexula harassment, beacause it is sudenly offensive?”….when have these things become ‘suddenly’ offensive…haven’t they been offensive for a long time? these things can be mentioned, no problem, but mentioning them for a joke, etc. that’s wrong and that’s what i think the writer was trying to tell…there is no denying that you have to be careful when the whole world is listening/reading/watching what you say..other actors don’t do it, even normal people don’t do it when they know it might come off as offensive to someone, so yes, i agree, Martin Freeman needs to think more about what he says

      1. Hate me, but I thought the jokes were funny 😛

         1. Yeah I agree. I love that dude I think he is hilarious. People are too sensitive now a days. If you don’t like it, don’t watch it.

            1. Unfortunately the “don’t watch it” argument isn’t a very strong one. Ignoring highly offensive things like, for example, humor that normalizes rape culture or triggers rape victims, does nothing to stop that behavior. I’m this case the interview happened at a press junket for a movie. The implication here is that rape victims who would be triggered by this shouldn’t watch anything related to The Hobbit. That’s not realistic at all.

               -Admin Angel

               1. The question was inappropriate and was answered in kind. And yes, if rape victims are “triggered” by Q & A’s about fictional worlds they need to avoid life until they develop coping skills. When a person personalizes random comments or actions by people they don’t know who don’t know them, they need help and they need to protect themselves by restricting their exposure to pretty much everything.

                  1. I think it’s obvious, but I disagree entirely. I don’t think people should have to shut themselves off from the world if they suffer a traumatic event. I think people should be kind to their fellow human beings and consider their sensitivities. It can take a rape survivor years to overcome their experience, if they overcome it at all. Telling them they have to shut themselves off from the world until they’re better is extremely unrealistic and cruel to the survivors.

                     -Admin Angel

                     Also I’m changing your name to your other name because I don’t like it when people use different names to appear that multiple people are holding the same view point. That’s called a “sock puppet.” Those aren’t allowed here.

                     1. This reply is unreadable. The formatting of this comment section, at least the mobile version, is not suitable for replying back and forth.

                        1. Feel free to read it when you aren’t on mobile. It’s not going anywhere.

                           -Admin Angel

         2. So did I! Maybe if I were an elf I’d be offended…

   4. Pleease, I just don’t get people anymore, I looked up the supposedly ‘sexist’ comment about Lucy. It was blatant and OBVIOUS sarcasm,meant to belittle himself and be a JOKE about how beautiful Lucy is. The whole ‘rape’ story, is insane; here’s your first clue, its about IMAGINARY creatures and IMAGINARY sex. I am all for standing up for your beliefs and its fine to call out people who are doing truly offensive things, but this whole article is one big ‘wtf’ ball of nothing from beginning to end.

      1. I’m sorry that you feel that triggering rape victims is no big deal. We’ll have to agree to disagree. I think reminding people of a trauma that they lived through is a very big deal. As for the Lucy Liu joke, it’s almost as though you didn’t even read my article. I also dismissed it as sarcasm and made excuses for it, but his offensive humor is getting to be too much and I look at it in a different light.

      2. I agree. I think Angel K needs to polish up her funny bone. She also didn’t get Kerosene’s sarcasm. I find most of what Freeman’s saying pretty funny. When he’s not being sarcastic and self-deprecating he’s beeing honest. This whole article is silly.

         1. What I find silly is dismissing rape survivors trauma as “silly” and prioritizing an actors humor over respecting their sensitivity to the subject.

            -Admin Angel

   5. I love you. People can be soooooo doofus.

      1. Yes, people that get triggered by memories of their rape are such doofus’s.
         Wait actually they aren’t and it’s an extremely sensitive subject that shouldn’t be joked about.

2. I think maybe you missed the series of tweets from Martin’s partner Amanda Abbington in which she said he wasn’t actually interviewed at all for that Daily Mail article, that the DM bought that stuff from a third partner without even checking to see whether it was accurate, and that she and Martin were horrified by what it claimed he said.

   The earliest Tumblr complaint I remember about Martin was someone saying that his loving Motown music is racist because it’s racist for white people even to listen to music by black people. If that sounds weird, just remember that there are two quite different meanings for the word “multicultural.” Many young people think it means we should enjoy and appreciate everyone’s culture, but as a political movement it sometimes refers to having separate racial and ethnic cultures with each person pretty much staying in the one he/she was born into. In its more extreme forms, it means support for racial and ethnic separatism. From this point of view it’s considered racist when, for example, a white person dares to listen to and enjoy music from a non-white culture.

   After that, it seemed that there was formed a core of hatred for Martin and pretty much everything he says and does. For example, Martin is known for finding women to be no less sexy than they ever were as they get older. When it was mentioned by people on “Sherlock” that Martin made unspecified sexy comments to the woman who plays Mrs. Hutson (she’s never had anything but compliments to say about Martin), the same people who complained about his liking Motown said he must be a terrible sexist because he must have been lying about thinking her sexy when she’s so “old.” When that ageist complaint got a negative reaction, that line of criticism was dropped in favor of just saying he was insulting to her.

   The Daily Mail article began to be quoted as gospel, despite Amanda’s explanation showing that it was a fake.

   Martin has said he that he grew up being bullied because he was so small, and that his defense was to constantly put on a sarcastic comic act. It looks to me like he still, when he’s uncomfortable or feeling overwhelmed, switches into an act where he plays some character who can do anything because the character is totally immune to criticism. Usually he remembers to drop back into his real self and say something like, “No, of course that’s not so.” But occasionally he doesn’t. For example, when the interviewer said he’s more glamorous than Lucy Liu, he was clearly amused and went with it instead of correcting his lead-in sarcasm about her being ugly. And in the elf/hobbit thing, when he went from awkwardness about the interviewer pointing out that he’s short into that sarcastic comment about “some people” calling it “rape,” he pulled back but failed to add, “No, of course that’s not so – that would be horrible.”

   He really needs to change that defensive reaction, even if he needs a therapist to help him do it. I’ve repeatedly had the impression that he’s being advised to say nothing more when he realizes he’s gone too far with the nonsense and just let it “blow over.” Truly, truly bad advice! When even a good person hurts people and even when it’s done without intending to, that person needs to apologize.

   However, no matter what else he says and does, I don’t think the hate will ever stop until he stops listening to and talking about Motown.

   Sorry for such a long post. I won’t do it again.

   1. Never apologize for long winded posts when those posts are filled with quality information. This type of discussion is encouraged and welcomed. 🙂

      That said, I absolutely did miss the series of tweets dismissing that article. Those were by far the most extreme things he said before this rape joke. He does have a history of offensive jokes outside of that, though, but if you remove those it does bring the whole thing down a notch. Do you have a link or a screen shot to Abbington’s tweets?

      1. I think Amanda’s comments were on the twitter that she left when she got death threats in the conversations about Moffatt, not the twitter account she has now. I may have saved some screen shots. I’ll search for them after Christmas, as I have family due any minute. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Joyous New Year!

         1. Hi, if you ever find those screen shots, could you send me a link as well? Thanks!

      2. **PERSONAL ATTACK DELETED**

         1. Personal attacks are not allowed. You’ve violated our site policy twice. You are now banned.

            -Admin Angel

3. It’s Always Sunny has made rape and pedo jokes and I find them funny. Does that mean that the creators condone sexual violence? Does that mean that all their viewers condone sexual violence? Nope. A badly delivered joke does not equal supporting rape culture. The backlash he’s getting is above the offense. Elves don’t exist. It’s like saying I’m gonna ruffie and have my way with a Smurf tomorrow. The notion is absurd.

   How many of us has said “I’m could kill (insert whomever)” in a joking way? Murder is the worst crime you can commit and how dare we callously joke about death.

   Rapists and pedos are sick people, and often friends and relatives of the victim, but their pathology isn’t born from a “funny man/woman” making a joke. Someone doesn’t see Martin making a bad joke and go “rape is okie dokie, I’ll try it”. They possess a diseased mind. This outrage should be shoved in the faces of the institutions that protect the criminals (Church, State, University, a sports locker room, etc).

   You know, Chris Helmsworth could probably be a decent looking fella if he got hold of a plastic surgeon. <—This was said as a joke. He's obviously gorgeous and people that know me would automatically take it as a joke. That's pretty much what Martin said about Lucy Lui. He said something the opposite of what he thought-thus making the point how beautiful she was.

   Give me a celeb with a dark humor, who sometimes makes poor jokes, over a Hollywood Bot who can't pull together a unique thought for fear of alienating anyone. How many times has a Minka Kelly interview made you mad or stimulated any discussion. Celeb's publicists have them so scarred of making a faux pas that most appear as empty vessels (which some may very well be).

   1. I meant “I could kill” not “I’m could kill.

      1. Oh and sorry if my comments seemed aimed at anyone here. They aren’t. I was reading comments in a couple of other forums and they got really absurd. Someone posted that pretty much anything slightly offensive is off limits for celebs to discuss or mention. I’ve had friendly chats here in the past so I felt more comfortable posting here…even if no one agrees with me.

         1. Don’t apologize. Intelligent discussion is encouraged here. That said, I do disagree with the sentiment of dismissing offensive jokes. I’ve made offensive jokes before and I’m not going to lie about that, but there are lines that do not get crossed (such as rape) and more appropriate venues for such humor (with an extremely tight nit group of friends vs an interview). There’s some humor I don’t think is appropriate regardless of the venue, but if he was going to tell this joke to anyone this was perhaps not the best place to do it.

            I still love Martin Freeman, but this joke has made me uneasy going into Sherlock series 3.

4. Thank you Angel! I respect your pov.

   I’m very intererested in how we view/separate an artist with their work. I loved Rosemary’s Baby way before I was aware the director was a child rapist. I still see the art in the film. I also enjoy Woody Allen and Mel Gibson’s directing style, yet they’ve done such disgusting things. The way we reconcile the art with the artist is a fascinating subject.

   1. I’ve found myself sometimes unable to separate the actor/artist’s personal life from their professional life at times. I’ve never been a huge Tom Cruise fan, but after the Scientology/Oprah debacle years ago, I wrote him off completely as a nutcase, and only recently (and reluctantly) started watching movies with him in it. He’s still an annoying screen presence, but I don’t react to him quite as vitriolically as I did before when his couch-surfing incident was fresher in my mind.

      Another example, though more about pigeon-holing the actor, is Benedict Cumberbatch himself. I watched and adored “Atonement” nearly as much as I enjoyed the book (mostly upon the strength of James McAvoy’s stirring performance), yet I couldn’t watch “Sherlock” until recently because every time I saw Benedict, I associated him with his pedophile character in the movie. I’ve since come to fall in love with his depiction of Sherlock and can watch him again in other films without automatically associating him with either “Atonement” or “Sherlock” characters (except for “Star Trek Into Darkness”, as his John Harrison character came across as 23rd Century Sherlock Holmes with the same intensity and manipulative personality).

      Art and the actor’s personal life are so inextricably entwined, it’s very hard not to pass judgement on one without the other. We fall in love/hate with his/her character and it’s difficult for us to separate it from reality (e.g.Gosling and McAdams and their characters from “The Notebook.”); this is the very reason why Hollywood kept a wall between their actors and their fans for so long, so to preserve the mystique so they were ciphers for our own personal fantasies. Nowadays, it’s nearly impossible (I can name three actors off the top of my head who refused to come out gay, but through diligent paps, it was discovered not only were they gay, they were in committed/married relationships, some with children) and often times those who prefer not to answer probing questions are labeled as difficult or antisocial; we’re a society who demands answers to everything, even when we don’t need or really deserve it, and then we lose interest once we know.

5. I’ve also been having difficulty dealing with his questionable comments. The Internet has made it so much easier for us to realize that our favorite celebrities are humans, flaws and problematic viewpoints and all. This is both awesome and also thoroughly upsetting.

   My ex is often confused that a celebrity’s actions/comments in real life can affect how I view his/her work. He says just to avoid listening or reading interviews if I’m just going to get upset by something they said and then not be able to enjoy their work. I’ve tried explaining that that is a naive and rather dangerous path to take because he is implying the old ignorance is bliss notion. After all, if I avoided everything that upset me, I would not pay attention to the news, current affairs, etc!

   I think the best thing you can do is start a dialogue. Talk about and be open over why a celebrity’s statements are problematic or downright offensive. And if it bothers you that much, avoid his/her work as best you can. Sherlock is difficult to avoid, especially on the Internet, but take a step back from fandom or address it directly in fandom. People are quick to apologize but at least you can start a conversation.

6. Aside from the rape comments he made, I’ve never held anything he’s said against him or found him offensive to the same degree you do, but perhaps it’s also because I can relate to his sort of humor. And I do think some of his comments were taken out of context and also somewhat of a generational gap problem happening. Myrtle Martha was absolutely correct in pointing out the differing definitions of “multicultural” could be in play here. Plus, I could be completely wrong, but also culturally too – you being American (the part I could be failing) and him English. Regardless of right or wrong, how our specific society views things also influences our own perceptions, and while we have many similarities, American and British societies are also very different in many important ways.

   Does this excuse his comments and jokes, or even more importantly, your very valid opinion? No, of course not, but we’re also a culture of soundbites and who’s to say his every word is being faithfully recorded? Paps are very aware of the shock effect celebrities have and it isn’t beyond their purview to alter certain parts to exacerbate the issue – after all, they are in the business of selling and there’s nothing better (or worse) than controversy.

   1. Very insightful take on it. I haven’t really considered the differences between American and British society views on things, in particular this brand of humor. I have no idea what the norm is there. My only perception of things is filtered through media or through the few friends I have via the Internet. Some of the sources I’ve cited may be incorrect and while I haven’t received confirmation in the form of Amanda Abbington Tweets as the initial poster indicated, I very much want to believe that those quotes were taken wildly out of context or flat out lies. I love Martin Freeman and I love his partner Amanda. The Lucy Liu quote is true, though, and I initially defended it saying he just had an offbeat sense of humor, but things started piling up and looking back on it I view it differently. As I mentioned in a previous comment, if that one article is false, though, it drastically changes my view yet again. This is why I prefer video interviews to the written word. It’s much easier to confirm if things are true or false.

      Thanks for taking the time to comment. I appreciate the feedback and insights.

      -Admin Angel

      1. For the video on his comment about Lucy:
         http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/74088657.html

         I can’t find the one about the elf but I’ve seen it somewhere on Youtube once. To be honest, I was perfectly okay with that one and didn’t quite understand why some people are making a big deal out of it. The one on Lucy, however, was unacceptable.

7. It’s a joke not a dick don’t take it so hard.

   1. It’s a joke about rape that has the potential to trigger former rape survivors. I will take this seriously. Your inclusion of a sex joke here conveys to me that you really don’t care though.

      -Admin Angel

8. To be honest, I was pretty much okay with his joke on “date raping” an elf because really, we’re talking about a hypothetical character that doesn’t even exist here. I mean, that might very well be something my friends and I will joke about over lunch. Okay, maybe the setting in which he said it wasn’t appropriate but my point stands. A joke. Stop being over sensitive.

   What I didn’t find funny was him calling Lucy Liu a dog because that’s a direct attack on a person in real life. I mean, I watched the first episode of Elementary and I didn’t quite enjoy it. I think that Martin is the “god of expressions” as Benedict Cumberbatch puts it whereas Lucy pretty much wore the same expression throughout the entire show. My point is, I’m a big Sherlock (BBC) fan and I don’t even like Elementary (CBS). Even then, I’m feeling angry for Lucy because I think she’s pretty in her own way. There wasn’t any excuse for that kind of insult. If he meant it as a joke, well, it’s not funny at all

9. Lighten up people! I’m offended when I hear someone who’s probably fairly intelligent use a string of swear words when they are speaking. If I don’t like it I dont listen. Maybe you should do the same?

   1. You are essentially telling rape survivors who might be triggered by this that they aren’t allowed to watch or listen to any media at all. That’s extremely unrealistic. Likewise, people who don’t want rape culture normalized can’t just “not listen” when they hear jokes being made about it. You can’t change something by ignoring it.

      -Admin Angel

10. Why is his answer under fire and not the question? If you are truly concerned about dissolving a rape culture, write to the journalist who wasn’t creative enough to conduct an interview without sexualizing fantasy characters and inform them that their line of questioning is inappropriate, has absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand, and could prompt responses that might further offend sensitive individuals. Poor Martin was just doing his job of answering the stupid question.

    1. Oh believe me, I’m not letting the journalist off the hook either. The journalist was absolutely in the wrong too. Plenty of people across the Internet have lambasted the journalist for even posing the question. This article is not about this one journalist and this one question though. Even if it were, I said in the article, I want to blame it on him being tired. I don’t think he’s genuinely a bad guy, but this was not a good response to that question.

       This article is about a consistent pattern of offense (as the title implies). He has a habit of saying very offensive things. Perhaps he did his best under very exhausting circumstances and if this were the first offense it wouldn’t have propelled me to write this article. Perhaps this wasn’t him at his best and I do cut him some slack for that. He even seemed to acknowledge that he’d messed up, which is more than you’ve done so far. I’m not villainizing Freeman here. I’m not saying he’s a bad guy. I’m not, as other commenters have accused me of, calling him a rapist or saying he condones rape. All I’m saying is that he has a very offensive sense of humor and it’s very difficult to deal with since I really do love the guy.

       -Admin Angel

11. It is my opinion that your judgments are far too extreme and you personalize issues that are not about you. Example: saying that you ” love” the guy is a very personal statement as well as a gross misuse of the word which causes your argument to lose credibility and makes it easier to dismiss you. Survivors of anything, especially violence, are just that, survivors-and in order to survive they adapt to their environment until they develop the strength and skills to change it. I do not believe you are helping anyone by your overprotective stance on the issue and in fact are enabling those who have been abused to remain victims instead of becoming survivors. We cannot pad the world. When someone is sick, you avoid contact because you don’t want to become ill. This is the same situation. Survivors must take certain precautions to protect themselves that other people may not even consider because they have never been abused, and that is not their fault. And I don’t believe he was backtracking, he just knew what he said would be taken out of context and written about by extremists who look for things to be offended by. The fact that you did indeed leave out certain parts of the interview demonstrates that, because the fact that he said he has a ladder is a clear sign that he is to be taken lightly. Perhaps an improv class would help you to loosen up and better understand comedy.

    1. We’ll just have to agree to disagree. I think we should be accommodating for people with triggers. You don’t. I think it’s insensitive to assume that everyone wants to overcome those triggers right away. Some need time to deal with things and want to confront it on their own time. You clearly don’t think that way.

       And I do love Martin Freeman. There are many different types of love here. I don’t love him the same way Amanda Abbington loves him and you know that. I love his work. I love (most) of his humor. He’s fabulous. If my use of that word invalidates my entire argument to you, then there really is no point to continue because I’m not taking that back.

       I also didn’t leave out the question in my article at all. I did, in fact, write about it in the paragraph directly before I quoted him. This article was also written well over a month ago when the interview was everywhere online. I did link to many of his other gaffs repeatedly in the article because they were older, but when this article was posted it was a hot topic and it was everywhere. I did not anticipate people digging this article up a month and a half later, though I will definitely put a link to the interview in full in it now since it’s clearly an article that’s not going anywhere.

    2. There is now a link to Jezebel which has a transcript and links to several videos. Since this article is clearly going to keep getting hits 6 weeks after the event occurred, you’re right, links to the full context is good. That is now corrected.

       -Admin Angel

    3. Please read our policies: https://thegeekiary.com/policies

       I had to delete a comment from you because it violated these policies. If you can’t engage in civil discourse I will have to ban. I want to foster difference of opinions and will let you continue to explain your side, but please view our policies before continuing this discussion. Thank you.

       -Admin Angel

12. Here’s a thought: we could all stop peeing ourselves every time someone steps out of the PC mold. He’s a great actor, and I’d keep watching his work even if he started espousing genocide: like I said, he’s an ACTOR, not someone whose opinion matters. (Except to his friends and family, which we are not.)
    In short, grow up and stop blubbering.

    1. Here’s a thought: How about you actually read what I wrote here and stop making it out like it’s an attack on Martin Freeman? I’m getting really tired of having to repeat myself over and over again because people are reading some sort of hatred between the lines here. I was extraordinarily fair to Martin and stated over and over again that I do genuinely like the guy.

       Furthermore, this isn’t an “opinion.” He didn’t say he supported rape. He didn’t say that rape was okay. If had said that, I wouldn’t be as supportive of Martin Freeman as I am. It was a “joke,” not an “opinion.” And my problem is that this particular joke triggers rape survivors. I’m going to assume that like many commenters here you are of the opinion that rape survivors should just shut themselves away until the “get over it?” Because I am shocked at the number of people that don’t understand that people who suffered a trauma should be afforded some decency and thought about in this way. This isn’t a “PC” thing, but a “being considerate of those who suffered major trauma/abuse” thing.

       -Admin Angel

13. I shared a house with a rape victim for over 10 yrs. News items,radio, films, dramatisation of rape and sexual violence.. Etc etc etc. there’s triggers everywhere. I was on tender hooks daily worried there’d be something to upset her, my finger balanced on the remote control waiting to censor what she could watch. Where do you stop? Monitor other peoples conversations, cut out articles in newspapers.
    Freeman’s joke maybe I’ll advised, but it’s these idiots that feel they have the right to be offended on behalf of everybody else, who incidentally keep the fire burning on and on that should take a good hard look at themselves.

    1. I disagree entirely and have had a friend who is a rape victim say that she appreciates efforts to highlight how offensive rape jokes are to her and others like her. I have taken a good hard look at myself and am happy with what I see. I have taken a good hard look at those who defend rape jokes and am deeply saddened by it.

       -Admin Angel

14. Just read the list of comments linked in the main article. Jesus, get a sense of humour. *****Please edit post if writing the word ‘Jesus’ is offensive. *****

    1. That is not against the rules so no need to edit. I stand by my stance that rape humor isn’t funny and shouldn’t be joked about.

       -Admin Angel

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