Last night, Ricky Gervais turned the Golden Globes from a self-congratulatory Hollywood snooze-fest into an impressive cultural flash-point.
When he introduced the ceremony on Sunday, the comedian had some suggestions for his fellow celebrities: “Let’s have a laugh at your expense, shall we?” he said. “Remember, they’re just jokes. We’re all going to die soon, and there’s no sequel.”
Mentioning the show Afterlife, about a man who wants to kill himself, Gervais quipped, “Spoiler alert: season two is on the way, so in the end, he obviously didn’t kill himself, just like Jeffrey Epstein.” To the audience’s murmurs of discontent, he shot back, “Shut up! I know he’s your friend, but I don’t care.”
After making cracks at Leonardo DiCaprio and James Cordon, Gervais went for the gut:
His speech exploded immediately on social media. It didn’t stop celebrities, including abortion-advocate Michelle Williams, from political posturing, but it did make their efforts at virtue signaling seem utterly shallow.
At the Golden Globes, Gervais merely did what a comedian is supposed to do: He roasted everyone in the room. Every listener will find something to be offended by, but that’s just the point. Why do you think Dave Chappelle made headlines for weeks before and after he released his latest Netflix special?
Comedians such as Gervais, Chappelle, and even Bill Burr make listeners examine their beliefs by framing them in a new, comedic light. Gervais called out the hypocrisy of Hollywood, and Chappelle and Burr called out woke culture, with Chappelle even taking a crack at the rhetoric of abortion advocates.
The 2020 Golden Globes ceremony was the funniest awards show in years, and only because many of the celebrities in the room weren’t happy. Unfortunately, those who invited Gervais have probably learned their lesson. As Gervais said at the beginning of the night, “You’ll be pleased to know this is the last time I’m hosting these awards.”
