British comedian Ricky Gervais is perhaps the most controversial comedian on the planet. The “Office” creator has hosted awards shows, made appearances on numerous late-night talk shows, and released several comedy specials. With seemingly every joke and special, the left grows angrier, and that only drives Gervais to care even less than he already does about their outrage.
While the bombastic comedian certainly doesn’t identify as a conservative, what he is is an unabashed free-speech advocate. The 62-year-old comedian has managed to survive all of the cancellation attempts and has only grown more popular. His unique delivery and his willingness to point out the absurdity of the left has endeared him to comedy fans in America as well as England.
Recently, the comedian debuted a new special on Netflix titled Armageddon, and if no one has heard of it, it isn’t an accident. Netflix didn’t bother to promote the special, which came out on Christmas day, and despite being predictably panned by woke critics, it has become a gigantic hit. The comedian explained on X why Netflix didn’t promote his new comedy blockbuster: “Netflix aren’t doing any posters because they can’t be arsed.. They think it’s going to be huge whatever.”
The controversy this time stems from a joke Gervais tells, followed by an explanation that he doesn’t actually say the content of the joke to the folks mentioned in the joke. That is a convoluted way to say Gervais made a joke about children and the Make-a-Wish Foundation, with which he actively works, and despite explaining that he is making a joke, the woke mob still managed to get offended. Gervais explained: “I’m literally saying in the joke that I don’t do that. But people have a reaction. They don’t analyse it. They feel something – that’s what offence is. It’s a feeling. That’s why ‘I’m offended’ is quite meaningless. What do you want me to change?”
Now, Gervais is clapping back at the critics. Despite the special being wildly successful, he still has to defend his humor, and he barked back at the humorless left: “Of all the millions of people that watched it and loved it, only a few don’t like it. 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!’”
The latest special doesn’t shy away from all of the usual sacred cows Gervais routinely addresses. “Armageddon” pokes at twenty-somethings and how they get in their feelings over jokes. He picks at climate change, illegal immigration, and the gender issue in America. In short, all of the hot-button topics that the left is so afraid to laugh about. Gervais added: “People saying ‘you can’t say that.’ You can. You can.”
It is hard to be a comedian in 2023. The left is on high alert for any perceived offenses and ready to spring into action to defend groups who, in their eyes, can’t defend themselves. However, comedy should be uncensored and unfiltered. It is one of the last real avenues of free speech left. If we lose comedy, we lose free speech. Thankfully, we still have Chappelle, DiPaolo, Bill Burr, and Ricky Gervais, among others to keep comedy alive.
Featured image was originally posted to Flickr by Raph_PH at https://flickr.com/photos/69880995@N04/51527645068. It was reviewed on 30 September 2021 by FlickreviewR 2and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.
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