NBCLast month, Ricky Gervais kicked off 2020 with a bang, insulting pretty much every single person in Hollywood with a scathing opening speech at the Golden Globes.
While hosting the 77th annual ceremony on January 5, Gervais wasted no time in telling actors, producers and companies exactly what he thought of them – much to the entertainment of those watching at home.
Now, a little over a month later, fans of the comedian are calling for him to host tonight’s Oscars too after he responded to one person’s question of: ‘if you were hosting the Oscars tonight, what’s your first best joke?’
PA ImagesGervais responded in a typically Gervais way, giving not one but two options on Twitter, both of which called out the film industry in a massive way. Think: perverts, or ‘sex pests’ in the comedian’s own words, and hypocrisy.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that these are the two topics the 58-year-old would have touched upon should he have hosted the award ceremony, because those were the two main topics Gervais focused on as host of the Golden Globes.
Firstly, he begged Hollywood A-listers not to make political speeches because they ‘know nothing about the real world’, adding: ‘…so if you win, right, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god and f*ck off’.
He then addressed ‘some of the most important TV and film executives in the world’, calling them ‘perverts’ as he joked they were all ‘terrified of Ronan Farrow’ – the journalist who helped uncover allegations of sexual abuse against film producer Harvey Weinstein.
mmmmm yes pic.twitter.com/NUpkk6q8H7
— Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren) January 6, 2020
It seems he would have continued this theme at tonight’s Oscars if given the chance, as one of his opening jokes would have been: ‘It’s great to see such diversity in the room tonight. Rich sex pests of all shapes and sizes.’
The other? ‘I can’t wait to hear all your inspirational speeches about equality, and it’s great that the 3 hours you’re here tonight is the only time your badly paid migrant house staff will get some time off to sleep this week.’
Yikes. People couldn’t get enough and were soon asking Gervais to ‘host everything from now on’, with one person saying the comedian would no doubt get better ratings if he were to host the ceremony.
Another Twitter user told him to ‘show up just to make people nervous’, while another wrote: ‘The only way I’d watch the Oscars is if you were hosting.’
Can you just host everything from now on? Thanks.
— kob (@kabyber) February 9, 2020
You should live tweet the Oscars tonight. Guaranteed you’d get better ratings 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/D2CjQKbjqp
— DVSDeplorable⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@DeplorableDvs) February 9, 2020
If The Oscars wanted ratings they should have hired @rickygervais I won't be watching
— Stephen Toth (@USMCLep) February 9, 2020
How I would give anything to see Gervais host the Oscars.
— Scott S. (@Q_Element) February 9, 2020
Unfortunately for us – but luckily for those attending – Gervais won’t be hosting the ceremony. In fact, nobody will, as the event’s producers last year decided to go host-free following the Kevin Hart controversy, and as it worked pretty well they’ve decided to stick with it.
Who knows though, maybe Gervais will live tweet it all and provide us with some much-needed entertainment?
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).