Abbie Chatfield has weighed in on the feud between comedians and performers Meshel Laurie and Em Rusciano, in which Laurie incorrectly accused Rusciano of faking her autism diagnosis for clout.
After Rusciano revealed her diagnosis, Laurie said she was “leaping on the bandwagon for clout” and called her a ‘c**t’ in a since-deleted Instagram post.
Now, Abbie Chatfield, a prominent media personality, has weighed in on the issue, taking a stand to defend Rusciano.
Speaking on her It’s a Lot podcast, Chatfield slammed Laurie’s accusations, stating that it is “so ableist to say that you know what autism looks like in different people when it’s very different in everyone. That’s why it’s a spectrum.”
Abbie added: “[Laurie] basically has said Em Rusciano has faked her autism diagnosis. If someone was ‘faking a diagnosis’, how does that effect you, Meshel Laurie?’
“It doesn’t, babe. It doesn’t. No one mentioned you, yet again. You came running into the room with new information and everyone said, “Who the f**k are you?'”
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Furthermore, Chatfield accused Laurie of harbouring “internalised misogyny” as the root of her attack on Rusciano. Chatfield credits Rusciano for encouraging her to get diagnosed for ADHD last year, and she is deeply grateful for it.
“I love Em, she’s always been so lovely to me,” Chatfield said. “She’s one of the huge reasons why I got diagnosed.”
Rusciano originally shared her autism diagnosis in November.
Later, she praised Marvel Stadium ahead of the Harry styles concert, for providing a Sensory Room for those who required it.
Laurie seemingly took issue with the positive post.
“She blocked me after the last time I called her out, but could Em Rusciano please list the concerts she’s had to leave early, or not attend, because they didn’t provide a sensory inclusion room?” Laurie wrote in text notes and posted to her grid.
She then took to her own comments section, writing: “I have a close family member on the spectrum and I don’t appreciate people leaping on the bandwagon for clout and to excuse the appalling behaviour that’s caused their previous poor career outcomes.”
She continued: “A c**t is just a c**t and will always be a c**t. Many beautiful people are on the autism spectrum and they should never be confused with the kind of people who try to claim the diagnosis retroactively to explain their poor behaviour.”
Rusciano has addressed the mental toll the whole situation took on her on her own podcast, Emsolation.
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