The latest stand-up comedy special from comedian Ricky Gervais hasn’t even been released yet. However, that hasn’t stopped critics from feigning outrage over the comedian’s stand-up routine, and even launching a petition to remove a joke from the comedy special from Netflix.
A Change.org petition with nearly 13,000 signatures is demanding Netflix “remove Ricky Gervais’s offensive skit mocking terminally ill children” from his new “Armageddon” comedy special being released on Christmas day.
“I am writing this petition as a parent whose child, bravely battled cancer,” the person who started the petition wrote. “The recent skit by Ricky Gervais on Netflix, where he refers to terminally ill children as ‘baldy,’ is not just disrespectful but also deeply hurtful. It mocks the courage and resilience of these young fighters who face their illness with grace and beauty despite their baldness.”
“We believe that comedy should never come at the expense of someone else’s pain or suffering – especially when it involves innocent children battling life-threatening illnesses,” the petition stated.
Other critics have slammed Gervais for using a pejorative term for someone with a mental disability or who is considered stupid.
Gervais addressed the controversy in a recent interview on BBC Radio 5 Live’s “Headliners” podcast, and said offending people is an “occupational hazard” for a comedian. He also said that “99 percent of it” is “faux offense.”
Gervais said he is “playing a role” in his stand-up comedy, like an actor portrays a character in a movie.
“I’m literally saying in the joke that I don’t do that. But people have a reaction,” Gervais said. “They don’t analyze it. They feel something – that’s what offense is. It’s a feeling. That’s why ‘I’m offended’ is quite meaningless. What do you want me to change?”
“They’re not really offended,” the brash comedian stated. “They just want to be heard.”
“Of all the millions of people that watched it and loved it, only a few don’t like it,” Gervais continued. “If I give them special attention and try and placate them, I’ve annoyed the other millions of people that got the joke. They go, ‘No, you’ve ruined it for us!'”
“I’ve got a duty to the people that like it and get it. I wouldn’t sit down with a heckler would I? If I’m playing to 20,000 people, I wouldn’t stop the show and explain to them. I ignore them,” he added.
“I can play to a million people, I won’t get a complaint,” the stand-up comedian explained. “As soon as it goes on Netflix or as soon as someone writes up a joke that says this is offensive, people go, ‘Oh, that’s offensive.’ They haven’t even heard the joke. They weren’t there. Ignore them. They don’t count. They have no effect on me. They don’t count. They’re hecklers.”
“They just want a reaction … being ignored has the same psychological effect as being slapped in the face. So I really, really enjoy ignoring people,” Gervais declared.
“Some people think that a joke is a window to the comedian’s true soul,” Gervais said. “It’s just not true. It’s a joke.”
Gervais said of his critics, “They’re allowed to hate it. They’re allowed to not come to the show, but it’s not going to stop me doing what I love, and I’m not going to stop it at the expense of all the other people who love it. No one has to watch this.”
Gervais wrote on the X social media platform about his new Netflix comedy special, “In this show, I talk about sex, death, pedophilia, race, religion, disability, free speech, global warming, the holocaust, and Elton John. If you don’t approve of jokes about any of these things, then please don’t watch. You won’t enjoy it and you’ll get upset.”
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