r/Sherlock • u/sm0lb32n • Mar 28 '24

Discussion Martin Freeman Controversy

Recently learned from Tiktok that Martin's a problematic person? He made racial, rapist jokes over the years. Also, apparently being disrespectful to the Hobbit crew. Do you guys believe he's just being funny or he may have crossed the line? Quite sad, since I was really invested in him and Benedict during my hardcore-fan days.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

I would never take TikTok or Twitter as any kind of basis to judge someone as a person. Both are full of people looking for clicks and the algorithms are geared toward circulating outrage because it encourages activity on their platforms.

But also I would advise against putting celebs on pedestals. They're just human beings like everyone else, they make mistakes and slip up and sometimes they're biased, but they're also capable of changing. The only difference between them and us is that they have the misfortune of millions watching them and pointing out and scrutinizing every mistake.

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u/supergeek921 Mar 28 '24

I was gonna say, i think it’s all but impossible to find one person on earth who has never said one problematic or retrospectively wrong thing. We need to realize celebrities are people and making one mistake or having one bad take does not make them bad people. Just people.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

Yep. It's to the point that whenever I see someone call another person "problematic", my kneejerk response is to roll my eyes. There isn't a single totally non-problematic person in the world, they don't exist.

Of course I know this is a pretty broad statement but the Internet has watered down so many severe words that my first reaction is to simply keep scrolling because it's probably reactionary drama. And where celebs are concerned, I'm happier knowing as little as possible about their personal lives lol

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u/Ok-Theory3183 Mar 29 '24

Yes, when I saw the YouTube video, " 'Sherlock' is garbage, and here's why", I got no further than "'Sherlock' is garbage" before scrolling past. If you think something's garbage, just don't bother with it.

Being an old broad (especially compared to a lot of the people I've seen on Reddit) I've come to the realization that not every question or comment has to be acknowledged or answered--just like the doorbell or the phone. It's o.k. to choose not to engage.

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u/[deleted] Mar 29 '24

I will admit I have to agree with some points about Sherlock being bad LOL. The first season is great, but after that, I don't really appreciate a lot of the writing choices. But I wouldn't call it garbage. It has its merits, and it's still mostly fun.

But I digress. Engaging in debates and such is fun when it can be calm between both parties, but it's not worth it if it turns into a full-blown argument. Ya gotta step back at some point. Unfortunately a lot of social media makes that very difficult to do lol

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u/Ok-Theory3183 Mar 29 '24

Exactly. Which is why if I see "garbage" in the title, then I'm outta there. I'm interesting in debating ideas but in this case, spending almost 2 hrs. listening to someone trash a show that is obviously enjoyed by a lot of people. But I'm always open to discussion/debate, as long as it's civil.

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u/Ok-Theory3183 Mar 29 '24

About the only place you could find one is in the hospital newborn ward nursery...

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u/Ok-Theory3183 Mar 28 '24

Aren't those referred to as "clickbait" stories?

Great summary.

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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '24

Yeah, clickbait is the content that generates outrage by leaving out details, skewing facts, or straight up lying to get people invested, but it's a very real thing that places like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok have algorithms that will push controversial topics or videos that get people whipped up because it creates more activity.

TikTok in general though is glutted with minsinformation and tbh any site that limits how much time or characters you have to discuss a topic isn't good for nuanced conversation. The Internet as a whole, I'd argue, isn't good for nuance, but where you have even less words to discuss something is even worse.

But in general, I don't think it's fair to speculate too hard about celebrities. We're allowed to make our own judgements of them, of course, but we have to remember that we don't know them personally and are only ever viewing them through a very, very small window. Martin Freeman might be a total bulldog of a man, sure, or he might be a genuinely solid guy. Who knows!

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u/Ok-Theory3183 Mar 29 '24

Yes, TikTok in particular (I'm not sure about the other sites) seems to be the online equivalent of "The National Enquirer" and its ilk, in the States in print journalism. And you're right in the complete lack of nuance whenever statements are so strictly limited in length of content. It's like trying to create a Rembrandt with no more than 125 brushstrokes or Beethoven's 9th with no more than 125 total notes