In recent years, cancel culture has become a hot topic. People often get upset over various issues, sometimes over minor things and other times over serious matters, but either way, it can negatively affect the lives and careers of those who are targeted.
Ricky Gervais knows this all too well, yet he continues to offend people and risks being canceled. He has faced backlash after telling a joke that many found ‘outrageously offensive’.
His Netflix comedy special, SuperNature, is under fire from LGBTQ rights organizations. One group, GLAAD, has labeled it as ‘dangerous’.
They criticized Gervais for his ‘anti-trans rants’, calling them disgusting, and accused him of spreading false information about HIV. They issued a statement saying:
“We watched the Ricky Gervais ‘comedy’ special on Netflix so you don’t have to. It’s full of graphic, dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes.
“He also spouts anti-gay rhetoric and spreads inaccurate information about HIV.”
Gervais is no stranger to controversy. His style of comedy is highly provocative and often includes irony meant to offend.
He describes irony like this: “That’s when I say something I don’t really mean, for comic effect, and you, as an audience, you laugh at the wrong thing because you know what the right thing is. It’s a way of satirizing attitudes.”
Interestingly, he claims to support the rights of transgender individuals. In an interview, he stated: “Full disclosure: in real life, of course, I support trans rights. I support all human rights, and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life.
“Use your chosen pronouns. Be the gender you truly identify with. But come on, ladies: drop the c***. That’s all I’m saying.”
Netflix faced backlash from GLAAD for endorsing and allowing content that ‘promotes hate or violence’. They have their own guidelines regarding comedy, and the organization claims they are not enforcing those rules.
“The LGBTQ community and our supporters have made it abundantly clear that so-called comedians who spread hate instead of humor, along with the media companies that provide them a platform, will be held responsible.”
They also mention that there are ‘MANY hilarious LGBTQ comedians worth supporting.’
Alexis Rangel from the National Center for Transgender Equality is also critical of SuperNature. They cautioned that the jokes made in the comedy special contribute to ‘dehumanizing stereotypes about transgender individuals.’
Gervais addresses this in his special, stating that words aren’t necessarily equivalent to violence. He remarked: “People are virtue signaling … they’re essentially suggesting that minorities lack a sense of humor, which is incredibly condescending.”
Ultimately, Gervais isn’t worried about being canceled. He believes he can defend his humor.
He stated: “I’m aware of it, but I can rationalize everything. I don’t just go out there and blurt out the first thing that pops into my mind, thinking there are no repercussions … Everything I do, I have to be able to say, ‘This is why it’s acceptable.’
“It’s like I’m guiding them through a frightening forest, but it’s okay in the end, and we can all laugh about it. That’s the purpose of comedy, to help you navigate through scary situations.
“Some people didn’t appreciate it, that’s fine. You really have to break the law to be truly canceled. Otherwise, if some people didn’t like it, that’s just how it goes.”
One of the jokes that landed him in trouble on Netflix was about ‘old-fashioned women,’ which he described as ‘the ones with wombs.’
He went on to say: “I really like the new women. They’re awesome, right? The new ones we’ve been seeing recently. The ones with beards and c***s.”
His act also touched on HIV, stating: “It’s not as good as it used to be, AIDS … back in its prime, it was f***ing incredible, wasn’t it, AIDS?”
He then humorously imitated gay men from the 1980s who were avoiding sex out of fear. He added, “Now it’s, ‘Give it to me. I’ll take pills for the rest of my life.’”
