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Ricky Gervais doesn’t shy away from a controversial joke.
The comedian doubled down on his longtime defense of free speech during a recent radio interview, saying he doesn’t mind changing his material to avoid offending audiences — and arguing that backtracking only adds to the joke.
“I’m not telling people not to be upset; I’m telling them I don’t care if they’re upset. You can be upset if you want, it makes it funny to me,” Gervais said during an appearance on BBC Radio 2.
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Ricky Gervais speaks on stage at the Season 3 Premiere of Netflix’s “After Life” at BFI Southbank in London. (David M. Bennett/Dave Bennett/Getty Images, File)
The 65-year-old comedian, whose stand-up skills regularly provoke criticism with jokes about politics, sex, religion and celebrity, dismissed the notion that he was deliberately setting out to provoke audiences.
“You can’t help being offended, but … don’t expect me to care… It’s a myth that I go out to offend. I don’t go out to offend,” he said. “I just know it’s probably going to happen because everyone is different.”
Gervais argued that almost any idea can offend someone.
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Ricky Gervais at the 2012 Golden Globes. (Paul Drinkwater/NBC via Getty Images, File)
“There’s nothing you can say, especially anything interesting or controversial or your opinion, that someone somewhere won’t find it offensive,” he said.
Reflecting on how the reaction to comedy has changed, Gervais said audiences today are just as quick to anger as they were two decades ago.
“And times have changed. Twenty years ago, if someone said I was offended by that, I’d probably go, ‘Why?’ Now I’m going… ‘I know you are. Everybody.'”
Ricky Gervais tells the Los Angeles Times how he gets away with his offensive jokes. (Getty Images, File)
Although Gervais has often talked about cancellation culture and free speech in recent stand-up tours, he suggested he is ready to move on from the topic.
“I faced it a lot, in fact. I think that the last couple of visits, I faced the cancellation of culture and free speech because I felt it was necessary. Now there is no need,” he said.
“I don’t care about everything, I shouldn’t even bring it to the room. Those people who paid hundreds of pounds – they don’t get angry. I can play a million people, not one complaint.”
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Ricky Gervais at the 2020 Golden Globes in Los Angeles. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images, File)
Gervais insisted that the craze for his comedy doesn’t come from the crowds that fill his shows – it comes after his specials reach a wider audience online.
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“As soon as it goes on Netflix, 50 million people. Of course, there’s going to be somebody who doesn’t like it. What am I going to do? It’s too late. I’ve already been paid.”
The comedian has long dismissed calls to take his act down, repeatedly defending free speech and arguing that comedians shouldn’t shy away from controversial topics.
Earlier this year, Gervais reignited the debate by reposting one of the most memorable lines from his 2020 Golden Globes opening monologue, taking another swipe at celebrities who use award shows as political platforms.
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“If you win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech,” Gervais told the packed crowd. “You are in no position to educate the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.”
Echoing a quote from X, Gervais added his own jab: “They still haven’t listened.”
