Ricky Gervais' Newest Netflix Special Is Receiving Backlash For A Predictable Reason
"The Office" and "Extras" star and creator Ricky Gervais has said time and time again that he doesn't care who he offends with his brand of comedy. "I think offense is taken, not given. If you don't let yourself be offended, you're not offended," he told Today in 2016. If his epic celebrity roasts during his Golden Globes hosting stints didn't convince you that he was serious about pushing people's buttons, his latest comedy special will do the trick.
In his new Netflix special "SuperNature," the British funnyman made a series of graphic jokes taking aim at the trans and LGBTQ+ community. "Oh, women!" he began (via Variety). "Not all women, I mean the old-fashioned ones. The old-fashioned women, the ones with wombs. Those f**ing dinosaurs. I love the new women. They're great, aren't they? The new ones we've been seeing lately. The ones with beards and c**ks. They're as good as gold, I love them. And now the old-fashioned ones say, 'Oh, they want to use our toilets.' 'Why shouldn't they use your toilets?' 'For ladies!' 'They are ladies — look at their pronouns! What about this person isn't a lady?' 'Well, his penis.' 'Her penis, you f**king bigot!' 'What if he rapes me?' 'What if she rapes you, you f**king TERF whore?'"
You may take all the time you need to let his comments sink in, but many on social media are criticizing his jokes and comparing them to those of Dave Chappelle.
Twitter reacts to Ricky Gervais, calling him transphobic
On the heels of Dave Chappelle's Netflix special "The Closer" drawing ire from many comedy fans for declaring himself "team TERF" (via USA Today), and inciting Netflix employees to walk out in protest, Netflix has stepped in it again. Viewers took to social media to call Gervais "transphobic" and warn Netflix that this will have serious repercussions.
"Ricky Gervais knows it's easier to be transphobic than to be funny. Bigot comedy is dead easy to perform," one user criticized. Another tweeted, "there is nothing edgy about more cis people like ricky gervais making money off 'jokes' at trans people's expense. companies like netflix will lose because of this." Several other users encouraged comedy fans not to watch the special, or to cancel their Netflix subscriptions. A few found what Chappelle and Gervais are doing to be lazy comedy that punches down, and one user lamented the fact that Gervais sees trans-folx as "a threat, something less than human."
Gervais seemed to predict this by tempering his comments in his special with a disclaimer. "Full disclosure: In real life of course I support trans rights," he said (via the New York Post). "I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronouns. Be the gender that you feel that you are. But meet me halfway, ladies: Lose the c**k. That's all I'm saying."