Source: Huffington Post
English actor and comedian Stephen Fry has reportedly dodged blasphemy charges after authorities in Ireland failed to find enough people upset about damning comments he made about God two years ago.
The self-avowed atheist had been under investigation by Irish authorities after stating during an appearance on an Irish TV program in 2015 that if God does exist he’s an “utterly evil” “maniac,” the Irish Independent first reported.
Under the Republic of Ireland’s controversial Defamation Act 2009, an individual who publishes or speaks blasphemy “causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents” of a religion faces a fine of up to 25,000 euros, according to the BBC.
An unidentified citizen told the Independent that he filed a complaint against Fry to Gardai, Ireland’s police force, shortly after Fry made his comments on TV. That individual, who spoke with the news site on the condition of anonymity, said he continued to follow up with authorities on the investigation’s progress, though he wasn’t personally slighted by Fry’s remarks.