The Martin Freeman Situation
I usually don’t like to get involved when this sort of thing happens but I feel like I have to considering this is my all-time favourite show.
Guys, Martin has the right to voice his opinion. Sure, who could have said it nicer but also we have never been made to believe that Martin is the nicest, bubbliest guy in the whole world. I mean I literally have an article in my house where Martin talks about how he hates being approached on the street. Why? Because he’s a normal person with normal feelings and opinions and being approached on the street can be super annoying especially because he’s a busy man with stuff to do.
Anyways, back to the issue at hand. Martin has the right to voice his opinion in the way that he wants to and it’s a bummer if he doesn’t do it in a more respectful manner, but you know what else is a bummer? Fans being dickheads right back.
Remember the death threats to Amanda back in 2015? i mean she and Martin ended up contacting police because one person started to really freak them out and they were both scared. What about Benedict and Sophie’s stalker back in 2015 too? The one who actually showed up at their home where they lived with their infant son, leaving red ribbons around windows and even his car. Not only disrespect towards the actors but there are so many posts on this very website where “fans” insult creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss. “Fans” will even insult each other just because of the characters they ship together. Hell, I’ve been called “retarded” and “idiotic” just because of the two characters I ship. If we want to be respected by the actors maybe we should be respectful ourselves!
Some people don’t even have respect for the show itself and yet they call themselves fans. Guys, what happens in the show happens and is cannon. How the characters express themselves and communicate with each other, that’s the way they are in this series and if you don’t like it then you don’t have to be a part of this fandom.
I have seen so many posts about people who hate and despise series four and want to delete it from cannon and most of those posts that I have read have stated the main reasons as the writers of the posts hating Mary and also hating that it didn’t end with Sherlock and John being together. Now this is where I state my place in the fandom. Give me a chance and please do NOT stop reading due to my next sentence. I ship Sherlolly with my life. I’ve always loved Sherlolly. You know, Molly is the first person Sherlock ever apologized to. He has given her many kisses on the cheek and has wished her true happiness and don’t even get me started on Sherlock’s second “I love you” (I swear to every deity it was an epiphany) and him smashing her coffin to bits. BUT … JohnLock is a backup. If it weren’t for John, Benedict and Martin, and Moffat and Gatiss themselves saying over and over that John and Sherlock are not romantically interested/involved with each other than they would likely be my OTP. Sherlolly is my OTP because I agree with Martin. John can’t be gay. There’s no evidence in the series that he is and if he isn’t gay than JohnLock isn’t possible. As for Sherlock, you know I saw a romantic connection between him and Irene and obviously I see one between him and Molly, but I do admit that he never states in the show what his sexuality is. So who truly knows if he is gay, straight, bi, pan, demi, asexual, or any other sexuality that I’m not thinking of? Basically, no matter what Sherlock is, if John isn’t gay then JohnLock isn’t possible.
Now then, Martin Freeman knows John Watson better than any one of us do and if he says John isn’t gay then I think we should take his word for it. You can ship John and Sherlock if you’d like, if that’s what makes you happy, but being arseholes about it and not respecting the actors and other fans just because they disagree with you is just as dickish.
Martin said that the “fans” of Sherlock are making him not even want to do a series five. He stated in that interview that “People’s expectations, some of it’s not fun any more. It’s not a thing to be enjoyed, it’s a thing of: ‘You better fucking do this, otherwise you’re a cunt.’ That’s not fun any more.” He is exasperated and tired of being disrespected by his so called fans. I’m a stage actress and I’ve been in shows where it’s been criticized and my character has been criticized and it is exhausting and it honestly really hurts. You get to know the character you play and you know them like the back of your hand and then when someone goes and insults you and the way your character is played it’s like getting stabbed in the heart. You lot are the ones being rude and now you’re receiving backlash from it. This is what it’s come to. It isn’t just Martin being an arsehole. This fandom has driven him to being brutally honest and saying “Me and Ben, we have literally never, never played a moment like lovers. We ain’t fucking lovers.”
And you know what? Again, as an actress I know how this thing works. If the actors aren’t playing the characters as lovers then the character can’t be lovers. You can ship who you want, but don’t be dickheads because canon isn’t what you want it to be.
And to Martin Freeman, I still love you and respect you, but I do agree that you could have been kinder. But at the same time I understand exactly why you weren’t kinder and I didn’t really expect you to be.
