LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD has issued a statement in response to Ricky Gervais’ new stand-up comedy special, which contains jokes about transgender people.
The special, entitled SuperNature, has already come under heavy criticism from viewers who have called the subject matter “toxic” and “transphobic”.
In a statement shared on Twitter on 24 May, GLAAD wrote: “We watched the Ricky Gervais ‘comedy’ special on Netflix so you don’t have to. It’s full of graphic, dangerous, anti-trans rants masquerading as jokes. He also spouts anti-gay rhetoric & spreads inaccurate information about HIV.
“Attention Ricky and Netflix: people living with HIV today, when on effective treatment, lead long and healthy lives and cannot transmit HIV to others.”
It continued: “Netflix has a policy that content ‘designed to incite hate or violence’ is not allowed on their platform, but we all know that anti-LGBTQ content does exactly that. While Netflix is home to some groundbreaking LGBTQ shows, it refuses to enforce its own policy in comedy.
“The LGBTQ community and our allies have made it very clear that so-called comedians who spew hate in place of humor, and the media companies who give them a platform, will be held accountable. Meanwhile, there are PLENTY of funny LGBTQ comedians to support.”
Representatives for Netflix and Gervais did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for comment.
One of the clips from the special that has circulated on social media, sees Gervais say: “Oh, women! Not all women, I mean the old-fashioned ones. The old-fashioned women, the ones with wombs.
“Those f***ing 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 c***s. They’re as good as gold, I love them.”
He then imagines a conversation between two people. “And now the old-fashioned ones say, ‘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**ing bigot!’ ‘What if he rapes me?’ ‘What if she rapes you, you f***ing TERF w****?’”
In his two-star review for The Independent, Nick Hilton wrote: “As is all too frequent these days, the longest riff is reserved for the humiliation of trans people.”
Gervais has received support from at least one ally, Piers Morgan. Morgan congratulated Gervais on the show, which he said was “absolutely outrageous, fabulously offensive, hilariously funny and already enraging all the right people”.
