This week, world-renowned physicist Stephen Hawking passed away at the age of 76. Known for his pioneering work on black holes and relativity, he was one of our greatest thinkers. Also, he was an inspiring figure. At age 22, he was diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease. The condition bound him to a wheelchair, and left him unable to speak without the use of a voice synthesizer. Doctors said he only had a few years to live. But Hawking defied the odds, living for another 54 years, and leaving an indelible mark on science. (Also, he was really funny on The Simpsons.)
After his passing, people all over the world paid their respects on social media. But with some people's tributes looked more liked paying disrespect. Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot tweeted, "Now you're free of any physical constraints." While she surely meant well, some disabled people were offended, since she implied they wish for death to be free of their condition. And in a particularly boneheaded tweet, soccer star Neymar shared a photo of himself in a wheelchair, accompanied by a Hawking quote about overcoming life's difficulties. It's pretty outrageous to compare a broken metatarsal bone with a life-long battle with motor neurone disease.
Today actress Kirstie Alley became the latest celebrity to spark a backlash with a Stephen Hawking tribute. (It always comes in threes.) She tweeted a black-and-white photo of the legendary scientist, writing, "You had a good go at it..thanks for your input." Um, what? It's an odd thing to write. I mean, maybe she was joking - like, Stephen Hawking did a lot with his life, and gave the world a lot of input, so she's sarcastically saying he didn't? I don't know. It's not clear what she meant. Many Twitter users found her tweet 'heartless,' 'dumb' and 'disrespectful.'
One person replied to Kirstie's tweet, writing, ""An amazing mind, achieving so much with his disability and his absolutely hilarious sense of humor will be misssed." Kirstie then replied that person, agreeing, writing, "Probably one of the top 3 funniest people on the planet..beautiful mind." Indeed, Hawking was known for his wicked sense of humor, making memorable appearances on The Simpsons, Star Trek and The Big Bang Theory. Along with Neil DeGrasse Tyson, he's one of the few physicists to make an impact on pop culture.
But apparently the offended tweets kept flooding Kirstie's feed. She posted again, complaining about the vitriol, comparing people to locusts and flies:
"Where do these strange swarms of people come from on Twitter .. like locusts only crispier...I have so many "regulars" on here.. but then every once in a while the strangest people ( none who follow me) who all seem related in some incestuous ..show up like flies on a hamburger..creepy."
Maybe Kirstie Alley just has a weird way of communicating. I mean, do you remember Look Who's Talking and Look Who's Talking Now? Her babies could talk, and then her pets could talk. That has to be a traumatizing experience.