A member of the public reported Fry’s comments on the RTÉ show to Gardaí in Ennis.
More than two years after it was broadcast, Stephen Fry comments on The Meaning of Life with Gay Byrne in February 2015 are being investigated for blasphemy.
The Irish Independent report that a member of the public made a complaint to Gardaí after the show was aired and now officers from Donnybrook have followed up with a view to a full investigation.
In Ireland, the Defamation Act 2009 means that a person who publishes or utters blasphemous material “shall be guilty of an offence.” Upon conviction, a person could be forced to pay a fine up to €25,000.
Fry’s appearance on the show caused a sensation in 2009.
When asked what he would say to God at the pearly gates, Fry responded to Byrne: “How dare you create a world in which there is such misery? It’s not our fault? It’s not right. It’s utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?”
He went on to describe God as “a maniac.”
“Because the god who created this universe, if it was created by god, is quite clearly a maniac, an utter maniac, totally selfish,” he railed.
“We have to spend our lives on our knees thanking him. What kind of god would do that?”
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