Ricky Gervais took the stage for the fifth time to host the 2020 Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 5, and he made everyone feel super uncomfortable during his opening monologue. Yes, he really went there when he took aim at Cats, Judy Dench and dropped multiple f-bombs. First, Ricky started criticizing Cats by saying, “[This year], the world got to see James Corden as a fat p***y. He was also in the movie Cats. But no one saw that. And the reviews — ah, ‘shocking’. I saw one that said this is the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs.” Then, Ricky mentioned that Judy Dench, 85, who also starred in the movie, was actually proud of the project. But he noted that, of course, she would because she also loves lifting her leg and licking her own “p***y”. Ricky then said she probably chokes on “hairballs” because “she’s old school”, if you know what we mean.
Ricky also took shots at Felicity Huffman‘s legal issues, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s dating history, and Joe Pesci‘s small stature. But we can’t say we were too surprised by his offensive jokes, as he started the show by saying, “Kevin Hart was fired from the Oscars because of some offensive tweets. Lucky for me, the Hollywood Foreign Press can barely speak English. Remember, they’re just jokes. We’re all gonna die soon, and there’s no sequel.” Ricky then finished his monologue by saying, “If you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. 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. If you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent and your god, and f** off”.
Ricky, the creator of the British version of The Office, has already caused quite the stir for one-liners dropped during his previous stints hosting the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2016 Golden Globe Awards. He has made fun of everyone from Cher to Ben Affleck, and referred to Bruce Willis as Ashton Kutcher’s dad (the joke being that Demi Moore, Bruce’s ex, was married to the much younger That ’70s Show star at the time).
Arguably, Ricky’s most controversial joke was saying that Caitlyn Jenner “didn’t do a lot for women drivers,” leading some viewers to accuse the host of being transphobic (Caitlyn had recently confirmed her identity as a transgender woman). The comic was referring to a 2015 road incident, in which the Olympic gold medalist reportedly rear-ended a car by accident and the vehicle was then fatally hit by another car. Given the sensitive subject, not all appreciated the jab. Ricky later defended this joke in his 2018 Netflix special Humanity, saying, “I’m playing with the notion of stereotypes. I start off saying she’s a real woman… and I go, ‘Oh, well, she’s a real woman, I hit them with the old-fashioned reactionary stereotype: She must be a bad driver then.”
Ricky Gervais taking no prisoners in tearing apart Cats. #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/UiwxCXVRoO
— Dyl (@Dylanoneill_95) January 6, 2020
https://twitter.com/vxdhxx/status/1213992871180849153
Outside of hosting the Golden Globe Awards, Ricky has attracted attention for his new Netflix series After Life, which premiered in March of 2019. The dark comedy show, which Ricky stars in, directs, and executive produces, follows a recently widowed husband who decides to stop playing the nice guy in life.