Ricky Gervais speaks out after LGBTQ+ backlash ahead of new Netflix special
Ricky Gervais on the ‘only group’ you can joke about without backlash
- Ricky Gervais has claimed that working-class people are the only group comedians can make jokes about without facing significant backlash.
- The comedian said he would now avoid making quips at the expense of disadvantaged people, acknowledging that times have changed, but expressed no regrets about his past work.
- Gervais reflected on the current state of comedy during a forthcoming episode of Radio 4’s This Cultural Life, noting a disparity in how different power struggles are understood.
- He defended his approach to comedy, arguing that jokes about 'taboo subjects' help audiences overcome discomfort and that offence often arises from mistaking the subject for the target.
- His new stand-up show, 'Mortality', is scheduled for release on Netflix on 30 December, following previous controversy over jokes about transgender people in his special 'SuperNature'.