After a seemingly harmless tweet
Updating to add: The Independent reporting wasn’t very thorough. Tim Roberts seems to be pretty much on a level with the fans who trolled him.
Good grief.
A veteran stage technician, who worked in the West End for more than three decades, has quit his job after a social media row with fans of actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Tim Roberts walked away from his position as a light technician for The Phantom of the Opera last week after a seemingly harmless tweet he posted on his own account escalated into a row with self-styled “Cumberbitches”.
His messages prompted Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Theatres (RUT), which runs Her Majesty’s Theatre where Phantom is staged, to threaten him with disciplinary measures.
Mr Roberts criticised the company for “suppressing freedom of speech” among employees and he now fears he is unemployable in the West End.
He tweeted something critical about Cumberbatch’s Hamlet and the fan frenzy around it.
The tweet sparked a furious response from some fans who trolled his Twitter feed and even sent death threats.
Because that’s what you do.
Roberts responded rudely, and someone sent the whole thing to management at RUT, which opened an investigation.
The technician, who worked on Phantom for four years as well as Starlight Express and Bugsy Malone in the 1980s, was told disciplinary measures could be taken. “At that point I decided I would walk because I didn’t want to go through disciplinary,” he said.
So that’s his life ruined, because he said he didn’t admire Cumberbatch as Hamlet.
And Benedict blithely looks on?
Not having seen his Hamlet, I thought he did a rather passable Holmes and a not-so-bad Turing. But unless he interrupts silence in this matter (which I have not followed one iota) I probably will not enjoy any of his future performances.
Call me *exclusive, but sauce for ganders etc.
The row may have been sparked by a seemingly harmless tweet, but the issue for the RUT is the vile language (racist, misogynistic, ablist etc) used by their employee.
Currently still to be seen on his twitter feed: calling people morons, bitches, massive c**ts”, suggesting they hang themselves, or mass suicide, see also here.
Not the type of publicity any employer wants.
Ah. So the Independent did a shit job of reporting. Thanks, Indy.
In that case, maybe just as well he makes a Tim out.
And maybe Cumberbath gets the Benefic of doubt.
Well, this post certainly answers my question from the other Tim Roberts post. I should have read further. Mea culpa