Comedian Ricky Gervais is garnering pushback over a joke in his unreleased Netflix special, with critics going so far as to remove the joke from the comedy special before it releases to the streaming platform.
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.
Gervais’ joke apparently focuses on how busy he is making videos for terminally ill children, as supported by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, according to an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live’s “Headliners” podcast. Gervais says in the joke that he doesn’t go into hospitals and say “Wake up, baldy!” He then says, “Why didn’t you wish to get better? What, you f–king ret–ed as well?”
Gervais said in the interview that 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, in the same way that 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 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 that his critics are “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,” he continued.
Gervais gave a preview of his new Netflix special on X, “In this show, I talk about s*x, 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.”
In this show, I talk about s*x, death, paedophilia, 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 wont enjoy it and you’ll get upset. pic.twitter.com/kYXBlZRggW
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) December 19, 2023
