In true Ricky Gervais fashion, his speech upon receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was pretty dicey.
The After Life creator received the honour on Friday, following in the footsteps of thousands of showbiz greats, from Destiny’s Child and Bob Marley to Sir Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.
Or, if you’re Ricky, perhaps you’d rather focus on some more controversial recipients…
During his speech at the ceremony, the 63-year-old, famous for joking about taboo topics, decided to risk public cancellation once more.
He joked about how grateful he is to have his star sitting alongside some other legends of the business, naming Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, and Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, all of whom have been accused of sexual misconduct.
‘Thank you so much for this honour,’ Ricky began, as per Variety.
‘It’s a genuine thrill to be part of such an exclusive club.
‘And just looking around earlier at all the other stars, absolute icons, you know? Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby, Fatty Arbuckle…’
Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, has been accused of sexually abusing children at his Neverland ranch, which his estate has continued to deny. In 2005, further child molestation charges went to court, but the singer was acquitted.
Director Arbuckle, who died in 1933, was taken to court three times in the 1920s for the rape and manslaughter of actress Virginia Rappe. He was also acquitted and received a written apology from the third jury.
Meanwhile, Cosby was convicted of rape in 2018 and spent just under three years in prison following a highly publicised trial. He maintains his innocence, with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court later overturning his conviction.
Elsewhere in his acceptance speech, Ricky said sarcastically, ‘Wow, this is a huge surprise. I never thought I’d win this today.’
‘I haven’t even prepared a speech or anything,’ he quipped, pulling out a piece of paper.
Sporting his trademark black T-shirt and jeans, he added: ‘I should firstly apologise for how I’m dressed. This isn’t me trying to be cool or disrespectful to the establishment. This is me not having a suit that fits anymore.’
The comedian went on to say the nature of his job is being ‘not very good at taking things too seriously’.
But his speech did include a more earnest moment as he said receiving his star made him feel ‘humbled’.
He added that his success was a combination of ‘luck, persistence, and a little bit of pushing against the tide’.
Ricky’s addition to the landmark in Los Angeles makes him the 2,813th dedication on the Walk of Fame.
He has enjoyed a lengthy career, having created and starred in The Office on BBC, Life’s Too Short, and Derek.
The stand-up star has won seven Baftas, four Emmys, and four Golden Globes, having hosted the ceremony of the latter several times.
Throughout his career, he’s been no stranger to a risky joke.
In 2023, over 12,000 people signed a petition calling for Netflix to axe his comedy special Armageddon before it was even released after a teaser clip showed him making gags about terminally ill children and using the R-slur.
Immediately after the offensive joke, Ricky told the audience of the show: ‘These are all jokes, all right? I don’t even use that word in real life, the R-word. … I’m playing a role.’
Ricky was later quizzed on the divisive material, telling BBC Radio 5 Live listeners that the outrage against him was ‘faux’. He also compared the petitioners to ‘hecklers’.
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‘I can play to a million people, I won’t get a complaint. As soon as it goes on Netflix or as soon as someone writes up a joke that says this is offensive, people go, “Oh, that’s offensive”,’ he said.
‘They haven’t even heard the joke. They weren’t there. Ignore them. They don’t count. They have no effect on me. They don’t count. They’re hecklers.’
Ricky also previously faced backlash for his SuperNature movie, in which he made remarks about trans people, female comedians, and AIDS.
Addressing the matter afterwards on The One Show, Ricky argued: ‘I think that’s what comedy is for, really – to get us through stuff, and I deal in taboo subjects because I want to take the audience to a place it hasn’t been before, even for a split second.
‘Most offence comes from when people mistake the subject of a joke with the actual target.’
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