Another Twitter storm, another TV star claiming to have vacated the blue social bird. This time it’s the turn of UK Television personality Stephen Fry who’s taken offence to the social media reaction to his BAFTA jibe last night.

The jibe itself was an ill-judged comment aimed at Jenny Beavan; winner of the award for costume design for her work on Mad Max: Fury Road. Almost instantly social media blew up in anger when Fry refereed to the lady as “bag lady”.

It didn’t take long for his supporters to rally – once it became clear that the star had deleted his social media account.

See here’s the thing; the joke wasn’t even that funny. A man of Fry’s standing should know there’s a time and place for making in-jokes and on stage, in front of 5 million TV viewers isn’t that place. When only two people are going to get your joke and the joke sounds like an insult – you’re inviting the kind of controversy in that a man with Fry’s thin-skin should really know better.

That all being said – those people who hounded him Twitter really shouldn’t take things so seriously. It was an ill-timed joke that really didn’t merit the level of scrutiny some people are giving it. Some seem to be suggesting Fry was being misogynist – to that I have to say what planet are you on. It was a joke – a bad joke – but certainly not on the level worthy of critique he recieved. Some people really do need to back down.

So there we have it. A comedian making an unfunny joke being defended by his TV friends and attacked by people who have a bit too much time on their hands. How long until Fry returns we wonder?