Rosie Jones IS a national treasure, and – to quote Annie Macmanus – is a f**king legend. Susie and I had the great privilege and belly-laughing experience to see her ‘Triple Threat’ stand-up show last night. “If you’re not disabled or gay you won’t be leaving here tonight until you are” she joked.

What an amazing person she is – sharp as a pin, adorable northern spirit, comedy timing to perfection and a passionate activist who is female, gay and disabled using her platform to represent others from those communities.

Learn more about Rosie in this podcast.

The part of the show that impressed me most was her recollection of her appearance on BBC Question Time during the pandemic alongside Health Secretary Matt Hancock. She spoke passionately about the neglect of disabled people. She stuck it to the man. I had the honour of having a hug with Rosie afterwards and bought some of her merch. We shared a special moment about that part of the show.

What she says in the podcast reminds me that while Rosie is out there smiling for photos and making people laugh and making them think, it’s tough. Here’s a passage that should make us all reflect:

“I think I’m at the point now where I give everyone, everything. And as soon as I leave my house, my guard is up and I am *jolly voice* ‘hello! Hello! I’m Rosie! Always happy and never sad! I love being disabled, I love it, I love it!’, and the truth is, I don’t. Sometimes if it’s 4 am and an Uber driver won’t pick me up because they think I’m drunk, I’m fucked off. I don’t want to plead with a driver, ‘I’m not drunk, honestly I’m disabled’. I should be allowed to just be myself and not be the shiny, happy Rosie that I had to be for other people.”

#equalitydiversityinclusion matters a hell of a lot. Rosie jokes that she’s waiting for her turn to become a national treasure. She already is. 💙