Rowan Atkinson sparked a Twitter frenzy Tuesday after revealing his thoughts on “cancel culture.”
The actor told the Radio Times, “The problem we have online is that an algorithm decides what we want to see, which ends up creating a simplistic, binary view of society. It becomes a case of either you’re with us or against us. And if you’re against us, you deserve to be ‘cancelled.’
“It’s important that we’re exposed to a wide spectrum of opinion, but what we have now is the digital equivalent of the medieval mob roaming the streets looking for someone to burn,” Atkinson went on. “So it is scary for anyone who’s a victim of that mob and it fills me with fear about the future,” according to Variety.
I never thought Mr. Bean would be the one to have the best take in hollywood but I should've known
— J (@FettermanJosh) January 5, 2021
Love it!
Well done, Mr. Bean!🌹 https://t.co/k32IrKW3xa— Linda Blade (@coachblade) January 5, 2021
Mr. Bean with the FACTS💯🚫🧢 https://t.co/fS7zsR4Hvz
— Abi Kula (@abi_kula) January 5, 2021
The actor known for playing Mr. Bean spoke about the global phenomenon during the tell-all chat.
Despite the character being loved around the world, Atkinson insisted “I don’t much enjoy playing him.”
“The weight of responsibility is not pleasant. I find it stressful and exhausting, and I look forward to the end of it,” he shared.
Atkinson said, “Having made an animated TV series, we’re now in the foothills of developing an animated movie for ‘Mr. Bean’ — it’s easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually.”
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Although he’s looking forward to “the end” of Mr. Bean, Atkinson said he’d be happy to revisit his role in the 1983 British sitcom “Blackadder”.
“I don’t actually like the process of making anything — with the possible exception of ‘Blackadder’, because the responsibility for making that series funny was on many shoulders, not just mine,” Atkinson said. “But ‘Blackadder’ represented the creative energy we all had in the ’80s. To try to replicate that 30 years on wouldn’t be easy.”
