‘Daily Mail’ Writer Stirs Geek Pot, Banned From London Film & Comic Con, Calls Fans ‘Saddos’
A Daily Mail columnist, Liz Jones, has created a stir in the geek-culture community after her experience covering the London Film & Comic Con this past weekend. In fact, Showmasters, the company that organizes the event, has made it known via Twitter that the media outlet has been “banned from press.”
Her opinion on attendees, who she referred to as “saddos,” created quite a ruckus on social media as well as the comments section of the Daily Mail, which has disabled commenting at the bottom portion of the article. There was even a tweet directed at Showmasters asking to have the Daily Mail banned, and of course, the organizers issued the aforementioned response.
For Americans, “saddos” is a British term for “a socially inadequate or pathetic person,” so you can understand why such a label placed on geek enthusiasts would spark controversy. This is a place where like-minded people come together, and it’s essentially no different than anyone else’s passion in non-geek culture-related hobbies such as sports, theme parks, and the like.
Apparently, Liz Jones has made her thoughts known over at the Daily Mail. She says that she has heard nothing about this event and stated what kind of people attend these functions. She then pulled out the big guns to use the term “saddos.”
“In other words, it’s for saddos who self-medicate with fantasy. People with no real lives of their own. Who never grow up. Spectators, not doers. Passengers.”
They are banned from press.
— Showmasters (@Showmasters) July 31, 2017
Jones made observations about a “saddo” Green Lantern cosplayer lacking a girlfriend. Then she observed what was going on with a family of cosplayers as she tried to figure out who they were. Liz continued by participating in a photo-op taken with The Walking Dead’s Emily Kinney, whom she claims she’s “never heard of.”
Someone also addressed the Daily Mail columnist on Culture Fly, citing in his headline “from one ‘saddo’ to another.”
A cosplayer by the name of Eduki Cosplay, who says she’s normally a harbinger of positive vibes, felt the need to give her feedback as well, and a slew of her followers followed suit.
“This poor excuse for a newspaper article has directly insulted a friend of mine, in addition to other cosplayers and I am appalled.”
https://www.facebook.com/EdukiCosplay/photos/a.1571633253058222.1073741837.1571504733071074/1927534140801463/?type=3&theater
It seems that Jones doesn’t understand the genre, but hopefully, she’ll get an education, as one of the commenters put a positive spin on the situation.
For someone who turns the other cheek, kudos can be given to Daily Mail commenter Niki McGrane, who had sent an MCM London Comic Con invite out to the columnist, noting the positive ending to Liz’s write-up. It appears that Niki wants to prove to Liz why people are passionate about these fictional characters, film, and TV shows by attempting to immerse her in the genre by offering up a costume for the writer to wear.
My first piece for @culturefly is #LFCC related unsurprisingly. #London #comiccon #BenedictCumberbatch https://t.co/sED6ACDl6T
— David Bedwell (@DavidBedwell) August 1, 2017
“I’d like to focus on Liz’s positive comment at the end of this article rather than the opinions she’s paid to have by the Daily Mail. Liz, I am part of a friendly and inspirational cosplay family, and we’d love to invite you to the MCM event in October at London’s fantastic ExCel venue.”
Will the Daily Mail’s Liz Jones take her up on that offer? Will immersing the columnist help her see the geek culture perspective more clearly? Do you think Liz had an epiphany at the conclusion of the event regarding herself as the “nutty one” and the positive comment that McGrane noted?
[Featured Image by Dan Dennison/Getty Images]
