Adam Kay: What is the worst thing anyone has said to you? — FLAPSS

The question

What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?

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.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Adam Kay

British comedy writer, author, youtuber, comedian and former physician

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

A reviewer once called me “artistically bankrupt”, and it doesn’t feel like reviews can get much worse than that.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Others on this question

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Omid Djalili British stand-up comedian and actor

"Which side shall I comb it over?"

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 7 August 2010 source ↗

“And for you, sir?” It happens a lot.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 17 May 2025 source ↗

The melanoma has returned in your lung.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 13 September 2025 source ↗

Jason Manford English comedian and singer

Someone once said online that they hated me so much they wanted to stab me with a spoon. A knife’s easy, but a spoon – that takes real hatred.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 8 July 2023 source ↗

More from Adam Kay

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Question What does love feel like? Relationships

When my cold toes drain the heat from his warm ones, but he doesn’t mind at all and is happy for our tarsal temperatures to meet in the middle.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question What has been your biggest disappointment? Failure & regret

I’ve never been upgraded on a plane.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question Which trait do you most dislike in yourself? Identity & self

Self-destruction.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question When were you happiest? Time & hindsight

In the one photo I’ve seen where my smile looks convincing – I’m four years old, so I’m guessing then. But I just won a Bafta and that felt amazing, too. So, roughly every 40 years.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question If you could edit your past, what would you change? Failure & regret

I could have done without being sexually assaulted, or having an eating disorder, or pushing myself to breaking point, but every chapter of my life brought me here.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

Question What is the trait you most deplore in others? Values & belief

People who barge into a lift instead of standing aside for anyone exiting should be dipped in kerosene and fired into the sun.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 3 June 2023 source ↗

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