Ricky Gervais Doubles Down on Controversial Comedy at 65 as Netflix Reach Hits 50 Million
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 18
Ricky Gervais Doubles Down on Controversial Comedy at 65 as Netflix Reach Hits 50 Million
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 18
Summary
BBC Radio 2 gave Gervais a fresh platform to reject changing his material, with the 65-year-old comic saying he does not care if audiences are offended.
50 million Netflix viewers, he said, explain the backlash better than his live shows do: once a special reaches a mass online audience, someone is bound to object.
Gervais insisted he does not set out to provoke people, arguing that any mildly contentious viewpoint will offend someone and that audiences are quicker to take offense than 20 years ago.
Hundreds of pounds paid by ticket buyers, he said, show his core crowd is not the source of complaints, and he added he now wants to stop centering cancel culture and free speech in his act.
Earlier this year, Gervais revived the debate by reposting his 2020 Golden Globes line telling winners not to turn awards speeches into political lectures, adding on X: "They're still not listening."