Comedian Ricky Gervais brushed off criticisms he's received for his comedy special, which has yet to be released on Netflix.
Gervais's latest project, Armageddon is slated to be released on Dec. 25. To promote the special, Gervais posted a clip from the special weeks ago, which made its way onto X, formerly Twitter. Online users took issue with Gervais using offensive language.
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“I’ve been doing video messages recently for terminally ill children — and only if they request it, obviously,” Gervais says in the clip. "I always start the video the same way I go: 'Why didn't you wish to get better? What, are you fing r**ed as well?'”
The joke, which was told in different variations across his worldwide tour, was met with laughs by the audience in the London Palladium.
“These are all jokes, OK? I don’t even use that word in real life, the 'R' word. ‘You just used it, Rick.’ Yeah, in a joke. That’s not real life, is it? I’m playing a role,” Gervais went on in a mock back-and-forth with himself. “Imagine if I came out here and did things not very well, so you knew I was joking. That’d be fing r**ed.”
Gervais encouraged those who could be offended by jokes "about sex, death, pedophilia, race, religion, disability, free speech, global warming, the holocaust, and Elton John" to avoid watching his special on Netflix. He also posted a livestream to X to answer questions from fans, and he briefly addressed criticisms that he hasn't changed his sense of humor.
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 wont enjoy it and you’ll get upset. pic.twitter.com/kYXBlZRggW
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) December 19, 2023
"Why would I suddenly go: I’ve changed it — it’s not what I usually do? What? Yeah, I’m not doing that. I’m doing puns," Gervais said. "No, no, no, no, no. I’ve decided to change a winning formula, and I’m doing impressions. Do a few songs. It’s completely different. Of course I do the set. I’d be a f***ing idiot to not just keep doing it, wouldn’t I?"
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The Armageddon tour grossed $32 million for the comedian and included a Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing single stand-up performance at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, on May 6. On that tour stop, the gross revenue earned was $1,790,206.50. Armageddon has already received a Golden Globe nomination for best performance in stand-up comedy on television.
Gervais's last project on Netflix, a three-season comedy series called After Life, is the platform's most-watched British comedy for four years running, with 140 million views worldwide. The final season aired in 2022.