JAKARTA, March 26 — Indonesian fans have apologised for deluging British actor-comedian Stephen Fry’s Instagram with angry messages after mistaking him for a badminton judge.
The Indonesians turned their ire on Fry, 63, after their team was withdrawn from last week’s All England Open because of a coronavirus case on their plane.
The enforced pull-out, over British coronavirus regulations, prompted a diplomatic appeal from Indonesia officials and a furious response online.
Some fans wrote scathing messages on Fry’s Instagram page, believing he was the service judge criticised for alleged bias in an Indonesian doubles match.
“Don’t ignite rage in Indonesians, you unfair judge,” said one in Indonesian.
The mix-up appears to stem from Fry’s Instagram being shared to followers of a fan account, with a message saying he was the badminton judge.
But by today, many of the angry messages had been deleted and replaced with apologies from fans who realised their error.
“I’m so sorry if you got spammed by Indonesian fans,” said one from an Instagram fan group’s account.
“Those people just don’t think things through. And, they don’t represent Indonesia.”
Fry, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for playing Oscar Wilde in the 1997 movie Wilde, and is also a successful author, does not appear to have reacted to the messages. — AFP
