Ricky Gervais has issued a blunt message to critics who take offence at comedy: “You have to have free speech.”
Speaking ahead of his record-breaking Hollywood Bowl show, the 63-year-old comedian and creator of The Office made it clear that he won’t be toning down his humour for modern audiences who seem all too eager to take offence.
“You have to have free speech,” Gervais declared. “There’s nothing you could say that someone somewhere won’t be offended by. It’s impossible, so you shouldn’t even try.”
Gervais, who’s built a career on poking fun at taboo topics, insisted that offence is often misplaced, and that people are confusing the subject of a joke with the target.
“Offence often comes from people mistaking the subject of a joke with the actual target, and they’re not usually the same,” he explained.
The After Life star, who was recently awarded a coveted star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, admitted that sometimes even broadcasters get nervous when it comes to controversial comedy.
“Sometimes, it’s an executive producer or a broadcaster who just wants some ammunition to defend it,” Gervais revealed.
“They don’t know whether it’s OK or not, they just don’t want to get complaints. If I can go ‘listen, this is why it’s OK,’ then they often trust me.”
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But Gervais is adamant that it’s never about trying to offend for the sake of it.
“It’s not me sitting in the room going, ‘what’s the most offensive thing I could say to get the BBC burned down?’” he said, “There’s always a point to it.”
He also took aim at the double standards faced by comedians compared to politicians.
“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.
“That’s what politicians do. 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.”
For Gervais, pushing boundaries is the point of comedy, and it’s an art form that requires risk.
“I do that on purpose, 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 explained to the Los Angeles Times.
“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 OK because they always laugh.”
As for those who can’t handle his jokes, Gervais had a simple message: turn off the TV. “The only form of censorship, as an audience, is your right not to listen,” he said.
“You just don’t have to watch. You can leave, not buy my stuff, not buy my tickets, and that’s absolutely fine. You can turn your own TV off, but what you can’t do is make other people turn their TV off.”
He even suggested that some people enjoy being offended. “People sometimes seek out the offence, and that’s actually where people can get addicted to being offended. They like it, it makes them feel alive,” he said.
Gervais, who balances his comedy with supporting up-and-coming comics through the Spirit of Comedy competition, isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
As he gears up for Mortality- a show that promises dark laughs about death and the human condition – he remains unapologetic in his mission to make people laugh and think.
