Comedian Ricky Gervais says ‘free speech’ essential for comedy, admits any joke will offend someone

British stand-up comedian and sitcom star Ricky Gervais said comics should not obsess over potentially offending audiences, because any joke will offend somebody somewhere.

In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times, the creator and star of the British version of "The Office" TV series, described how he employs offensive jokes and taboo subjects for his audiences and stressed the importance of free speech for comedy.

"But you have to have free speech, and there’s nothing you could say that someone somewhere won’t be offended by. It’s impossible so you shouldn’t even try," Gervais told the outlet.

Ricky Gervais tells the Los Angeles Times how he gets away with his offensive comedy. (Getty Images)

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"I don’t go out there and try to ruin the audience’s evening. I go out there, and I make a joke, and it’s crafted," he said. "We’re human though, and we take things personally, but you shouldn’t, because I think comedy is best as an intellectual pursuit."

Despite Gervais’ reputation for ruffling feathers, he says using offensive jokes is more about guiding an audience through a scary or uncomfortable scenario so they can come to a new perspective about it. 

"We’re human, so we react to buzzwords, and we’re cautious of taboo subjects. That’s why they’re still taboo, because we’re cautious of them. I do that on purpose as well, particularly with my stand-up where I talk about contentious issues and taboo subjects, because I do want to take the audience to a place they haven’t been before," he said.

Ricky Gervais went viral in 2020 for his Golden Globes speech that brutally mocked the Hollywood elite. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal Media, LLC via Getty Images)

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He continued, "I do want them to reflect on it, worry about it, think about it and then, I’ve got to misdirect them. It’s like I take them by the hand through a scary forest, but it’s okay because they always laugh."

Gervais even suggested that comics could go too far with jokes. 

"If I were going out there and saying things that were really offensive, and no one was laughing, well, that would be odd," he said, adding that’s the difference between a comedian like him and politicians. "Politicians say awful things, and they mean it, and no one laughs. Comedians say things they don’t mean, everyone laughs, and they get the same treatment."

The comedian made waves in 2020 for his Golden Globes speech that featured a no-holds-barred assault on many of the Hollywood elites present in the audience. In one of the infamous jokes, he grilled alleged Hollywood connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Gervais declared that Epstein didn't kill himself, prompting groans from the crowd.

"Shut up, I know he’s your friend, but I don’t care," he quipped.

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In another, he told the audience, "You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg."

Gervais has taken a stance against "fragile" and "easily offended" people in recent years.

In response to online debate over whether language in Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s books should be updated to be more politically correct in 2023, the comic posted a serious picture of himself, writing, "This is me pondering whether they'll change any of the words I've used in my work after I'm dead, to spare those who are fragile and easily offended."

He then listed off several of the profane words that have marked his comic career: "Words like 'fat' and 'ugly'. And 'c---' and 'f---'. And 'fat, ugly, greedy, pathetic little stupid f------ c---'. Stuff like that."

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