“‘Cumberbitches’ fan name sets back feminism,” says Benedict Cumberbatch.
Benedict Cumberbatch sweetly confronted his fans over the ‘Cumberbitches’ nickname, suggesting that it set the women’s movement back a few decades.
He told Ellen DeGeneres that he wants his fans to come up with a more “empowering” collective name.
Speaking to a talk-show host recently, Cumberbatch said: “It’s like trying to squeeze a confession out of me getting me to actually say that word, because I squirm a little bit about it.
I definitely didn’t come up with it. That’s part of my problem with it. I just went: ‘Ladies, this is wonderful. I’m very flattered, but has this not set feminism back a little bit? Empower yourselves. If you’re going to get silly about a guy, maybe a little bit more of a sort of, you know, a high-regard, self-regarding name.’”
But his fans insisted they didn’t mean any harm.
Cumberbatch said: “They were very sweet. They wrote back and were like: ‘Well we didn’t mean any harm to feminism! We’re just having a little bit of fun with your name.’”
Cumberbatch has spoken out in support of feminism before. Last year, he joined ELLE Magazine and the Fawcett Society’s “this is what a feminist looks like” campaign.
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Cumberbitches’ Fan Name Sets Back Feminism
Written By Helen Nianias
“This Is What A Feminist Looks Like”
Written By Mollie Goodfellow
Virginia NOW History 