Failure & regret

What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?

122 answers answered between 2007 and 2026 one of 25 in The Q&A

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A fixed Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

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On the record

Public figures who have answered a question like this elsewhere. Quoted from the source shown, not written for FLAPSS.

Rosie Jones British comedian and actress
“You’re not funny.” I fully understand why my comedy might not be right for everyone, but don’t tell me, get on with your day!
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 31 December 2022 source ↗
There’s a tweet somewhere saying, “If you like Africa so much, why don’t you go back there.” It was because I dedicated one of my dances to my three mothers – Mother Africa, Mother Nature and my mother.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 30 September 2023 source ↗
“Your lyrics are rubbish.” It was someone I was working with when I was in my early 20s. It turned out well because I then spent a long time studying and learning how to write good lyrics.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 11 November 2023 source ↗
It’s that bad, I’d never repeat it. I’ll just say it was particularly cruel and incredibly racist. It was somebody that I used to date, at the end of the relationship, and it hurt very deeply.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 December 2023 source ↗
It happened when I was younger, somewhere outside London. We were on bikes, and this older girl pulled up and said something racist that I won’t repeat. I will never forget that, because it was the first time, and I was like, “Oh, I am feeling different from everyone around me right now”.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 16 December 2023 source ↗
A friend and I were talking about eating disorders and he said: “Well, we never have to worry about you not eating.”
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 February 2024 source ↗
People give me a hard time about my hats. Over Christmas, this drunk woman shouted something about me having a shit hat because I had a red beanie on. Last week at a party, someone gave me a hard time for wearing a cap. I just think about melting ice caps when this happens.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 23 March 2024 source ↗
Eleanor Tomlinson English actress
“You were amazing in Game of Thrones.” I say it’s the worst thing – it’s also the best!
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 25 May 2024 source ↗
Racial and homophobic slurs – the F- and N-words. When I moved to London, people screamed the F-word from their cars, and that stings.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 21 December 2024 source ↗
Olly Alexander English singer and actor
It’s the stuff about my appearance that sticks. I read I had a face like a crumpled napkin and teeth that could till a field.
Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 15 March 2025 source ↗
I’ll never amount to anything. Who? He was my rival at dance school. It hurt and is something that I’ve always had in the back of my head to defy.
Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 28 March 2026 source ↗

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