The 68-year-old British actor and comedian Stephen Fry has a defiant message for anyone who criticizes the age gap between him and his 38-year-old husband, Elliott Spencer. He was confronted with a provocative question on the British talk show “The Assembly.”
“What do you say to people who don’t like relationships with a big age difference?” one of the interviewers asked. Fry replied that he felt sorry for these poorly informed people. The only thing that should matter in a relationship is love — and that it should be “felt from both sides” and “not an exploitative relationship.” “I always tell people that in our relationship, actually Elliott has all the power. He makes many decisions because I trust him. It just works wonderfully for us — and if people don’t like it, they can go to hell,” Fry said.
“The Assembly” is a format where a prominent guest is interviewed in a broad group setting. All questioners are autistic, neurodivergent, or learning disabled. The talk show has been praised for its innovative concept and authentic interviews. Fry’s interview opens the second season of the program and will air on Wednesday night on ITV1, Britain’s leading commercial television channel.
Fry met Spencer, a comedian and photographer, in 2012 at a house party. In January 2015 the couple wed at the registry office in Dereham, in eastern England (TheColu.mn reported). The pair keeps their relationship private and is rarely photographed together.
“Stephen is the love of my life”
Spencer has in the past rejected criticism of the age difference with his husband: “I don’t care what people think,” he said shortly after the wedding. “Stephen is the love of my life.” Fry, in turn, has credited his younger husband with expanding his cultural horizons. In a podcast last year he said: “He teaches me things I simply didn’t know. He introduced me to Kendrick Lamar — and I decided that he is a wonderful poetic mind, a truly remarkable personality.”
The 1957-born Fry is regarded as one of Britain’s most versatile artists. He has found success as a writer, screenwriter, director, and television host. His greatest successes, however, come as an actor: he appeared in blockbuster films such as “V for Vendetta,” “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” “Gosford Park,” or “A Civil Action”; he first achieved success with a joint comedy series with Hugh Laurie in the eighties. In the community, his portrayal of Oscar Wilde in the British film of the same name from 1997 is particularly beloved. Last year Fry was knighted by King Charles III (TheColu.mn reported).
