‘Fleabag’ Fans Are NOT Happy With Ben Stiller for Saying the Show Is About a Sex Addict
ICYMI, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s hilarious show, Fleabag, is killing the whole Emmys thing. It is literally nominated for 11 awards and can’t stop scooping them up. (Thank god. Phoebe gives the best acceptance speeches, TBH. She should win all the awards, always.) If you have not watched this piece of pure comedic gold yet...you need to reevaluate your whole entire life and head on over to Amazon to binge it immediately.
Still, it appears that not everyone at the Emmys has hopped on the Fleabag bandwagon. Yes, I’m looking directly at Ben Stiller here. In the beginning of the show, the comedian described the series as “a comedy about a sex addict.” If you watched both seasons of Fleabag and missed the part where it’s totally about a sex addict, you’re not alone. Fans of the show are not impressed with Ben’s comment.
Things fleabag is a show about: alienation, intimacy, London as a concept, sororal bonds after trauma, detachment from the self, the divine, sex as a language and a sublimation, grief, wit as a weapon
Things it is not about: a sex addict— 🎃 rachel slime 🎃 (@rachsyme) September 23, 2019
Did Ben Stiller just describe FLEABAG as a "comedy about a sex addict"? 🤨
Why are men.— #nomorewhiteguys2020 (@throughthelinz) September 23, 2019
The disrespect from Ben Stiller, Fleabag is much more than that #Emmys2019
— Greb (@detectivegreb) September 23, 2019
Ben Stiller: "Fleabag: a comedy about a sex addict." Extremely reductive. #Emmys
— Marina Fang (@marinafang) September 23, 2019
Anyone with access to Google (ever heard of it?) can easily tell you that Fleabag is about “a dry-witted woman, known only as Fleabag, who has no filter as she navigates life and love in London while trying to cope with tragedy.” So, yeah. It’s definitely weird that Ben chose to explain Fleabag as a “show about a sex addict,” because that’s definitely NOT the main story line. It’s very eye-roll-worthy for a dude to describe a female protagonist who is open and honest about her sex life as a “sex addict.”
If we’re going to get technical here, it’s probably worth mentioning that Phoebe has used the words “sex addiction” when speaking about Fleabag. (Seemingly only once.) In an interview with Vulture, Phoebe did casually mention Fleabag’s “kind of sex addiction” but quickly followed up with, “I suppose if it is that.” It’s kind of a stretch to say that’s what the whole entire show is about.
In much better Fleabag-related news, I am happy to announce that in the wonderful world of memes, Phoebe has officially reached the ranks of Beyoncé.
— a n n i e ☘ (@V0XLUX) September 23, 2019
If her fandom does not already have a name, I would like to suggest “the Phoehive.”
You Might Also Like
