IT WOULD TAKE A HEART OF STONE NOT TO LAUGH:
● Shot:
If there’s a place for cheap humour, it’s at Friday night work drinks after one too many, an episode of South Park or in a best man’s risqué speech. It’s certainly not on the stage that birthed the #MeToo movement, one that should respect its power for mass influence.
The awards were certainly not free from activism – powerful speeches were given by actors including Jennifer Aniston on climate change, Joaquin Phoenix on veganism, Michelle Williams on abortion rights and Patricia Arquette on the conflict between Iran/US. But any meaningful message is dampened when the man at the helm is making schoolboy jokes about paedophiles.
Describing his Netflix show After Life, Gervais declared “It’s a show about a man who wants to kill himself. Spoiler alert, season two is on the way, so in the end he obviously didn’t kill himself. Just like Jeffrey Epstein.”
When a joke about Greta Thunberg – “You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg” – features in the same broadcast as heartfelt pleas about climate change you can’t help but feel confused about the message Hollywood is trying to send.
—”Ricky Gervais cheapened the Golden Globes – but worse he overshadowed vital political statements.” Headline, the London Independent, today.
● Chaser: “Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past.” Headline, the London Independent, March 20, 2000.
Related: Liberal Reviews Are in for Ricky Gervais’ Performance and Their Tears Are Delicious.