Controversial comedian Ricky Gervais kicked off his fifth gig hosting Hollywood’s Golden Globe Awards gala with jokes about diversity, celebrity activism and Netflix.
“We were going to do an ‘in memorium’ this year, but when I saw the list of people that had died, it wasn’t diverse enough. It was mostly white people and I thought, ‘Nah, not on my watch,'” he quipped. “Maybe next year. Let’s see what happens.”
Gervais also teased his fellow celebrities for starring in TV shows and movies made by major conglomerates with questionable business practices, offering as an example the Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show.
“A superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing made by a company that runs sweat shops in China,” he said. “You say you’re woke, but the companies you work for? Unbelievable! Apple! Amazon! Disney! If ISIS started a streaming service, you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?”
Gervais discouraged Globes winners from using their acceptance speech time to make political statements.
“You are in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg,” he said.
People don’t want to see movies in theaters any more, thanks to streaming services that offer quality home entertainment, Gervais went on.
“Everyone’s watching Netflix. This show should just be me coming out, going: ‘Well done, Netflix, you win — everything. Good night.’ But, no, we’ve got to drag it out for three hours,” he said.
“You could binge watch the entire first season of After Life instead of watching this show. That’s a show about a man who wants to kill himself because his wife dies of cancer and it’s still more fun than this, Spoiler alert! Season 2 is on the way, so, in the end, he obviously didn’t kill himself — just like Jeffrey Epstein.”
When the crowd groaned in response, Gervais shot back: “Shut up! I know he’s your friend, but I don’t care.”
Winners of the Golden Globes are chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The awards honor excellence in film and television.
Leave a Reply