Ricky Gervais Slammed for Mocking Trans People in New Netflix Special
Netflix released the new Ricky Gervais comedy special SuperNature on Tuesday (May 24), and already the show has garnered criticism for a series of transphobic jokes.
Early in the special, Gervais launches into a 15-minute-long segment aimed at trans people and “cancel culture.” His material includes cheap and offensive jokes about pronouns, public bathrooms, and rape.
“Oh, women!” he begins. “Not all women, I mean the old-fashioned ones. The old-fashioned women, the ones with wombs. Those f*****g dinosaurs. I love the new women. They’re great, aren’t they? The new ones we’ve been seeing lately. The ones with beards and cocks. They’re as good as gold; I love them.”
He continues by portraying a made-up argument, stating, “‘Oh, they want to use our toilets.’ ‘Why shouldn’t they use your toilets?’ ‘For ladies!’ ‘They are ladies — look at their pronouns! What about this person isn’t a lady?’ ‘Well, his penis.’ ‘Her penis, you f*****g bigot!’ ‘What if he rapes me?’ ‘What if she rapes you, you f*****g TERF whore?'”
This isn’t the first time Gervais has mocked trans people in his comedy. He similarly used his 2018 Netflix special, Humanity, to hit back at critics who slammed his offensive material about Caitlyn Jenner at the 2016 Golden Globes. He responded by making more jokes at the expense of Jenner and the trans community.
In the new special, the After Life star references comedian Kevin Hart in relation to cancel culture and how the “dominant mob” gets to decide what someone can be canceled over. He also mentions Louis CK and Liam Neeson, though fails to mention all three of these so-called “canceled” celebrities still have lucrative careers.
“The worst thing you can say today, get you cancelled on Twitter, death threats, the worst thing you can say today is, ‘Women don’t have penises,’ right?” Gervais says. “Now, no one saw that coming. You won’t find a ten-year-old tweet saying, ‘Women don’t have penises.’ You know why? We didn’t think we f*****g had to!”
He later claims that he is only “pretending” to have these views for comedic effect, stating, “OK, full disclosure, in real life, of course, I support trans rights. I support all human rights and trans rights are human rights. Live your best life. Use your preferred pronoun.”
However, he still ends this speech with one last mocking punchline, saying, “But meet me halfway, ladies. Lose the c**k. That’s all I’m saying.”
Check out some of the response below.
Ricky Gervais has a new stand up show out on Netflix today.
5 minutes in and he’s making jokes about trans women attacking & raping people in public bathrooms. To him we exist only as a punchline, a threat, something less than human.
— Esme (@discount_Ripley) May 24, 2022
Ricky Gervais doing a set on trans folks.
How daring. How novel. How heroic!Comedy that really makes you think!
Made me think of a man called Barry who sits in a pub in Hyde sipping a John Smiths all day, reading the Mail, making similar gags and complaining about immigrants.— Paul Husband (@PaulHusband_) May 24, 2022
In honour of Ricky Gervais and his 2-4-1 rant on trans people and cancel culture, I am in fact, cancelling. Thanks @netflix #TransRightsAreHumanRights pic.twitter.com/fuW0d169rg
— Big Red (@bigredgaymer) May 24, 2022
Ricky Gervais is a disgrace, he is going to cause hate crime and ultimately the death of Trans folk. Anyone who needs to vilify minorities to get a laugh is the most evil hateful soul and seriously needs mental help https://t.co/0odAuWMUWp
— Dr Amy Roberts (@DRAmRoberts) May 24, 2022
Ricky Gervais may need this. pic.twitter.com/hqWFjYSjYh
— Finn (They/Them🏳️⚧️) (@FW10826) May 24, 2022
