'That is obsessive and deluded': Benedict Cumberbatch BLASTS 'scary' fans who claim his wife and baby son are a PR stunt

By Ciara Farmer For Mailonline

Published: 10:16 EST, 4 October 2016 | Updated: 02:05 EST, 5 October 2016

Scooping iconic roles such as Sherlock Holmes has earned him a legion of loyal devotees, who dub themselves 'Cumberb***hes'.

Yet Benedict Cumberbatch does not seem totally enamoured with the idea of his huge fan base after he called a selection of his followers 'obsessive and deluded'.

The 40-year-old Brit vented in an interview with Vanity Fair, in which he lashed out at the doubters who even suggested his marriage to Sophie Hunter and their 16-month-old son Christopher are 'PR stunts'.

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Hurtful stuff: Benedict Cumberbatch does not seem totally enamoured with the idea of his huge fan base after he called a selection of his followers 'obsessive and deluded'

Hurtful stuff: Benedict Cumberbatch does not seem totally enamoured with the idea of his huge fan base after he called a selection of his followers 'obsessive and deluded'

Benedict married Sophie on Valentine's Day last year and delightedly welcomed baby Christopher last year.

It seems the comments about his family particularly rile the handsome actor, who said: 'There are people who believe that my wife is a PR stunt and my child is a PR stunt. I think really it's to do with the idea that the 'Internet's boyfriend' can't actually belong to anyone else but the Internet. 

'It's impossible he belongs to anyone but me. And that's what stalking is. That's what obsessive, deluded, really scary behaviour is."

However, the star admits some of the comments posted online - such as a Twitter post which read; "Sometimes when I'm sad I picture a shirtless Benedict Cumberbatch slowly eating an apple fritter. Try it!" - make him laugh because he insists he isn't perfect.

The happy couple: The 40-year-old Brit vented in an interview with Vanity Fair , in which he lashed out at the doubters who even suggested his marriage to Sophie Hunter and their 16-month-old son Christopher are just 'PR stunts'

The happy couple: The 40-year-old Brit vented in an interview with Vanity Fair , in which he lashed out at the doubters who even suggested his marriage to Sophie Hunter and their 16-month-old son Christopher are just 'PR stunts'

He told Vanity Fair magazine: "Have you tried that? It wouldn't work for me.

'I'm glad I'm bringing a ray of sunshine to an otherwise dull day, being imagined eating fritters shirtless. But, I don't know, it makes me giggle.

'I don't look at myself in the mirror and go, 'Yeah, absolutely! I see what they're saying!' I see all my faults and everything that I've always seen as my faults.'

Upsetting stuff: It seems the comments about his family particularly rile the handsome actor, who said: ' There are people who believe that my wife is a PR stunt and my child is a PR stunt. I think really it's to do with the idea that the 'Internet's boyfriend' can't actually belong to anyone else but the Internet'

Upsetting stuff: It seems the comments about his family particularly rile the handsome actor, who said: ' There are people who believe that my wife is a PR stunt and my child is a PR stunt. I think really it's to do with the idea that the 'Internet's boyfriend' can't actually belong to anyone else but the Internet'

Benedict's son, who is nicknamed Kit, was born two weeks before he began rehearsing for London stage production 'Hamlet' and he has found that becoming a father helped him with his role in the Shakespearean play.

He said: 'Having a baby-it's massive. And on a very unexpected level. Suddenly I understood my parents much more profoundly than I ever had before.

'I was expecting, with 'Hamlet', that it might be a hindrance to be a father, because it's all about being a son. But it's the opposite. You understand much more about being a son, becoming a father.' 

Upsetting: Benedict's son, who is nicknamed Kit, was born two weeks before he began rehearsing for London stage production 'Hamlet' and he has found that becoming a father helped him with his role in the Shakespearean play'

Upsetting: Benedict's son, who is nicknamed Kit, was born two weeks before he began rehearsing for London stage production 'Hamlet' and he has found that becoming a father helped him with his role in the Shakespearean play'

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