Ricky Gervais calls critics of his new special 'hecklers'

Ricky Gervais calls critics of a controversial joke in new Netflix special ‘hecklers’

Ricky Gervais, in a black suit, holds a glass in the air while hosting the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards

Dec. 22, 2023 2:08 PM PT

A petition urging Netflix to remove a controversial section from Ricky Gervais’ new comedy special has garnered more than 12,000 signatures — but the stand-up comedian says it’s “just noise.”

The section in question was previewed in a Nov. 27 teaser for “Armageddon” — streaming on Christmas Day — in which the the Emmy- and BAFTA-winning comedian delivers a joke about his work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“I’ve been doing a lot of video messages recently for terminally ill children, only if they request it. I don’t burst into hospitals and say, ‘Wake up, baldy,” Gervais said, adding that he always begins his videos the same way: “I go ‘Why didn’t you wish to get better? What, are you f— retarded as well?’ ”

He closes the section assuring his audience that he doesn’t do that either.

“These are all jokes, all right? I don’t even use that word in real life, the ‘R’ word,” he says in the teaser.

Anna Miller, creator of the Change.org petition and a parent whose child has battled cancer, was not amused. She believes Gervais’ bit is “not only unfunny but deeply offensive.”

“I can’t comprehend how a writer or anyone at Netflix could greenlight such appalling content,” she wrote on the petition page, which launched Nov. 30. “We must demand the removal of this skit. Gervais has provoked the anger of parents living with their child diagnosed with cancer, and we won’t back down in fiercely advocating for them. He completely crossed the line. Our children are not a punchline, their lives aren’t a joke.”

Gervais defended the sketch Wednesday on air with BBC Radio 5 Live’s Nihal Arthanayake, labeling those taking offense as “hecklers.”

“If I’m playing to 20,000 people, I wouldn’t stop the show and explain to them. I ignore them,” he said. Gervais also noted that on social media, people can “hide behind this fake ID” and “95% of it is faux offense.”

“You’ve got to ignore it all… it’s just noise,” he said.

The acerbic comic went on to call offending people an “occupational hazard” for comedians, referencing previous controversies surrounding his 2022 special “SuperNature” — that audiences criticized for its jokes about trans people — and his bold 2020 Golden Globes opening roast.

“I make jokes about whatever I find funny, and some people don’t like that,” he told Arthanayake. “People are allowed to be offended. They’re allowed to hate it… but it’s not going to stop me doing what I love.”

When Arthanayake asked whether Gervais had read the petition, he side-stepped the question, quipping, “Good luck — I’ll even retweet it.” (He didn’t.)

Scope, a disability charity, criticized Gervais’ use of the slur in a Dec. 5 X post, which it deleted two days later because of the backlash it received.

“We wish we were surprised by reports that Ricky Gervais has used ableist slurs in his new Netflix special,” Scope wrote in the deleted post. “Language like this has consequences and we’re just not accepting the explanation that Gervais uses to try and justify this language.”

On Tuesday, Gervais issued a content warning for “Armageddon” via X: “In this show, I talk about sex, death, paedophilia, race, religion, disability, free speech, global warming, the Holocaust and Elton John. If you don’t approve of jokes about any of these things, then please don’t watch. You won’t enjoy it and you’ll get upset.”

The “bottom line,” Gervais said during his BBC Radio interview, is that “no one has to watch this.”

Representatives for Netflix did not immediately respond Friday to The Times’ request for comment.