Hosting an award’s show has always been fraught with peril. You’re supposed to make jokes but not offend anyone, which isn’t exactly how most comedians get their laughs. You’re supposed to keep a behemoth from lumbering past its time slot. You’re supposed to be gracious to the people in the building, but entertain the people at home.
In short, most celeb comedians have concluded that it’s just not worth the hassle. For the second straight year, The Oscars will have no host at all.
And Ricky Gervais? Well, since he was 100% sure he’d never be back to The Golden Globes again, he did everyone (at home) a favor and just let the truth bombs fly.
He delivered a short, one-minute-ish speech at the end of his monologue that basically told everyone in Hollywood to stop acting like they were morally above everyone else, to stop acting like they were smart enough to tell anyone what to do, and to get the f*ck off the stage after they thank their agent.
Yeah. Here you go.
The celebs in the room might not have been thrilled with the takedown, but people on Twitter definitely were!
Check out these reactions. Spoiler alert, Tom Hanks was the best.
— Robyn ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@robdetf) January 6, 2020
Glad to hear him calling out Tim Cook of Apple. Not many are brave enough.
— eGeek (@enlight3nedgeek) January 6, 2020
— Rob (@Robbielama) January 6, 2020
Basic training for spoiled celebrities. They need a dose of this every day. That really was something to watch.
— Shannon Ford-Text TRUMP to 88022 (@h0memadetweets) January 6, 2020
OMG that was amazing ????
The looks on their reddened, guilty faces: a mix of anguish, anxiety, embarrassment, disgust,
anger, & the notable LACK of clapping, particularly when Gervais told the hypocrites to shut up w/the politics & just accept their awards..#perfection— ???PatriotGirl??? (@sweetnursejulie) January 6, 2020
I think that every person who finds themselves with a platform has a duty to speak their truth to power, even if it basically gets you blackballed.
Here’s the full 7+ minutes if you’re into it (it’s worth it).
RIP Ricky Gervais. Guess I’ll see you at my local coffee house this year.
Do you think he went too far? Was spot on?
Do you think he cares?
I think we can all agree that the answer to the last question, at least, is a resounding no.
