Comedian Stephen Fry BAFTA 2016 'Bag Lady' Joke Caused Such Outrage That Host Quit Twitter

Last Sunday was the biggest night of the year for the British Academy of Film and Television, with comedian Stephen Fry stepping up as host once more. During the ceremony, Fry made a joke about Mad Max: Fury Road costume designer Jenny Beavan that prompted outrage on social media -- so much of it, in fact, that the actor ultimately quit Twitter!

According to The Guardian, the issue began last Sunday night, when the longtime BAFTA host referred to Beavan's dress as that of a "bag lady" when she left the stage after receiving the award for best costume design in a film, saying that "only one of the great costume designers" would use that dress for an award show.

The comment prompted ire in social media, and many Twitter users mentioned him in heated posts, saying his joke had been in poor form. Angered himself, Fry took to the social network to reply that Beavan is a close friend of his and that she'd gotten the actual intention of the joke.

He also retweeted a number of mentions of supportive fans that had "gotten" the joke, even posting a selfie with Beavan and captioning it "Jenny Baglady Beavan and Stephen Outrageous Misogynist Swine Fry at the #EEBAFTAs after party."

Ultimately, Fry got tired of the general attitude regarding the joke and decided to deactivate his Twitter account. The actor, comedian and writer took to his website to share that this isn't the first time he quits the social network and might even come back later on, but he's sick of the way things have been happening on Twitter for a while.

"Let us grieve at what twitter has become. A stalking ground for the sanctimoniously self-righteous who love to second-guess, to leap to conclusions and be offended -- worse, to be offended on behalf of others they do not even know. It's as nasty and unwholesome a characteristic as can be imagined," Fry wrote in an essay entitled "Too Many People Have Peed in the Pool."

After this controversy, it's unclear whether Fry will return to hosting the 2017 BAFTAs.