Ricky Gervais’ new Netflix show has sparked outrage for his use of shock humor to mock trans women.
“I love the new chicks,” Gervais laughs only minutes into his latest special for the streaming behemoth. The most recent ones we’ve seen. Those with cocks and beards.
They’re worth their weight in gold, and I adore them. No, it’s the old-fashioned ones who say things like, “Oh, they want to use our restrooms.” ‘What makes you think they shouldn’t use your facilities?’ ‘This is for the ladies!’ ‘Look at their pronouns! They’re ladies!’ ‘What if this individual isn’t a lady?’ ‘Well, his penis,’ says the narrator.
‘You fucking bigot! Her penis!’ ‘What happens if he raps me?’ ‘What if she rapes you, you fucked up TERF whore!’
TERF stands for “trans-exclusionary radical feminist,” a feminist ideology that rejects trans women’s status as women.
In his stand-up special Ricky Gervais: SuperNature, which premiered on Tuesday, Gervais questioned other comics and what is considered funny, citing today’s “awake, progressive times.” He claimed that instead of declaring a joke offensive, individuals should “have to acknowledge you found it offensive,” because feelings are personal.
Gervais also mentioned the current trend of “woke comedy,” in which comedians avoid offending anyone in favor of creating a “safe place” for the audience. “I tried to watch a little of it, but I decided I’d rather watch Louis C.K. masturbate,” he continued, pointing to his groin. “Can’t talk about him any longer,” she adds. He’s been dropped.”
He also mentioned Kevin Hart’s loss of his role as host of the 2018 Oscars after previous homophobic statements surfaced. The British comedian claimed that comedy would be jeopardized if comedians couldn’t forecast what might be inappropriate in the future. “You never know who will be the prevailing mob.”
The worst thing you can say now — the thing that will get you canceled on Twitter and death threats — the worst thing you can say today is, ‘Women don’t have penises,’ right? Nobody saw that coming. ‘Women don’t have penises,’ say no 10-year-old tweets. Do you understand why? We didn’t anticipate we’d have to!”
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The Irish actor’s confession that he once pondered a racist “revenge” attack prompted Gervais’ riff about woke society and getting canceled. “When it happened, I thought to myself, ‘Oh, will I ever be able to laugh at Schindler’s List again?’… “Of course, I still find it amusing,” he remarked.
“In real life, of course, I support trans rights,” he said, letting go of his shock humor for a moment. I support all human rights, including trans rights. You should, you know, live your best life.
Use the pronouns you like. Be the gender you want to be. But, ladies, meet me halfway. It’s time to get rid of the cock. That’s all I have to say about it.”
Following the release of Gervais’ Netflix special, supporters and detractors reacted quickly on social media.
“Ricky Gervais is like a dick,” Alejandra Caraballo, an instructor at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, remarked on Twitter. “He shows up on your phone unexpectedly, acts big and hard talking about trans people but is a lot smaller in real life and can’t handle people calling him out on social media.”
“Ricky Gervais and his marketing team get what they wanted: a Twitter trend. Meanwhile, in real life, trans persons receive the least funding for healthcare and are subjected to a bombardment of negativity from an increasingly anti-trans media. “This isn’t a joke,” Miss Freda Wallace, a British artist, stated.
“Ricky Gervais is just an extraordinarily lazy comedian who hasn’t worked out that just because you’re insulting doesn’t mean you’re funny,” theater composer, lyricist, and LGBTQ+ campaigner Charlie Caine said on Twitter. His followers now appear to be right-wing twits who find cruelty amusing solely because it is harsh and ‘triggers the libs.'”
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In a statement, GLAAD said it watched the show “so you don’t have to,” and chastised Netflix for its content rules.
“It’s chock-full of gory, frightening anti-trans rants disguised as comedy.” He also uses anti-gay language and shares false HIV information.
Attention, Ricky and Netflix: persons living with HIV today, when on effective medication, enjoy long and healthy lives and are unable to transmit HIV to others,” according to a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter concerning SuperNature.
“Netflix has a policy that content ‘intended to promote hate or violence is not allowed on its site, but we all know that anti-LGBTQ propaganda does just that.”
While Netflix has a number of breakthrough LGBTQ programming, it refuses to enforce its own humor policy. So-called comedians who spew hate instead of fun, as well as the media firms who provide them a platform, will be held accountable, according to the LGBTQ community and our allies. Meanwhile, there are a plethora of LGBTQ comedians to cheer on.”
The outcry against Netflix comedian Dave Chappelle over transphobic material in his most recent comedy special, The Closer, provoked a walkout by trans personnel and allies at the streaming service. Chappelle went on to star in the Netflix comedy special Is a Joke, when he was attacked onstage by a fan while working on new material.
Ricky Gervais was a guest on SiriusXM’s Jim Norton & Sam Roberts Show last week, where he hinted at the potential backlash to SuperNature for being transphobic. He was replying to a question from co-host Sam Roberts about how his performance had irritated Netflix employees.
“I’m not sure what to say. There’s nothing problematic about that in my opinion because it’s simply jokes. I even explain what “irony” is at the start of the act, and everyone there — I don’t know how many people I played to — no complaints. Aren’t they laughing at everything? However, everyone will be critical of everything in it.
Someone is going to complain about every single line, either because they despise it, don’t understand it, or because it comes after… Here’s the deal with comedy: I can think of at least 20 prohibited topics. Every single person on the planet laughs at 19 of them and despises the one that touches them.”
Netflix has been contacted for comment. Netflix’s cultural policy was changed earlier this month to include encouragement for artistic expression.
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“Entertaining the world is a fantastic opportunity, but it’s also a struggle because people have such diverse preferences and viewpoints. As a result, we provide a diverse selection of TV episodes and films, some of which may be offensive. We provide ratings, content warnings, and easy-to-use parental controls to help members make informed decisions about what to watch.”
Netflix also stated that it does not restrict artists and instead provides a diverse range of perspectives. “Everything on our service will not appeal to everyone, and not everyone will agree with everything on our service. While each title is unique, we follow the same set of principles: we support the artistic expression of the creators we work with; we program for a diverse range of audiences and tastes; and we let viewers decide what is appropriate for them, rather than having Netflix censor specific artists or voices.”
Andrew Walker is the Chief Editor at “Landscape Insight” and has a background in journalism. He has been writing for Landscape Insight on a wide range of Entertainment topics including Celebrity Net Worth, Controversies, Web Series & Movie Updates, etc. When he isn’t writing, Andrew enjoys playing video games and baseball. You can reach Andrew at – [email protected] or by Our website Contact Us Page.
