Ricky Gervais is notorious for his sharp and uninhibited jokes - particularly while hosting the Golden Globes. He has hosted them five times, the most recent being the 2020 event. For the 2020 Golden Globes, Gervais certainly did not hold back, repeatedly stating that "he doesn't care" as it would be his last time hosting. Gervais is notable for calling out celebrities and Hollywood in general, even going at the Hollywood Foreign Press, the very organization that hired him 5 times to host the show. Many in the audience are often appalled at his crude sense of humor, most vividly shown in Tom Hanks's face during this year's Globes.
Critics of his monologues, particularly this year's, have stated that his jokes are "right-wing," condemning Gervais for "yelling" at celebrities who "used their stage time to say valuable things." To this Gervais asked how criticizing the hyper-privileged of society can be considered right-wing. And he's right.
If anyone actually listened to his monologues, they would realize that he supports almost every left-wing movement. His criticisms really just center around how the uber-rich and the hyper-privileged cannot possibly relate to the everyday struggles that normal people face. It truly is not their place to act as the spokespeople for movements. Instead, they should be actively taking part to make a difference rather than just putting their face on a cause.
The issue is that people in the audience cannot separate a joke from reality - in all honesty, an American audience cannot dissect blunt British humor. For example, his joke about Caitlyn Jenner was immediately taken as transphobic. In reality, nothing about his joke was transphobic at all - people only took it to be so because the subject was a transgender individual. What he actually said was: "I'm going to be nice tonight. I've changed — not as much as Bruce Jenner. Obviously. Now Caitlyn Jenner, of course … What a year she's had! She became a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery in breaking down barriers and destroying stereotypes. She didn't do a lot for women drivers. But you can't have everything, can ya? Not at the same time."
Gervais was actually criticizing Jenner for a car crash that she was involved in, during which a woman died - it was a clever joke in which Gervais underlyingly claims that as famous as you are, you are susceptible to criticism, just like he is. Just because Caitlyn Jenner is part of the LGBTQ+ community, does not mean that she is immune from jokes - people cannot simply write off any joke as against a marginalized community just to avoid criticism.
In fact, most of his critics are the people he criticizes, the Hollywood elites. Viewership of the Golden Globes skyrockets when Gervais is the host, suggesting that people just watch for him, which is the reason that the Hollywood Foreign Press has to hire him. The general public is not interested in celebrities anymore - nobody wants to hear the same speech that actors and actresses give every year. Gervais's attacks on the elite speak to the average person - his audience is not the celebrities but us.
At the end of the day, it is a matter of free speech. Ricky Gervais can say whatever he wants and everyone has the right to criticize him, but one cannot just write him off just because someone is offended. As Gervais says, "Just because you're offended, doesn't mean you're right."
