Ricky Gervais has come under fire over controversial jokes about transgender people in SuperNature. This comes after a clip resurfaced on social media of James Acaster taking aim at the comedian.
The After Life creator, 60, has caused a huge backlash with his comments about transgender people in his new Netflix comedy special, the mirror reports. Gervais dedicated a significant chunk of the show commenting on the trans community, joking that ‘old-fashioned women’ are ‘the ones with wombs’ and that he’s transitioning to become ‘Vicky Gervais’.
The routine has been widely blasted, with many turning to Acaster’s criticism in a 2019 stand-up show to encapsulate the harms of Gervais’ comments. One person sharing the clip of Acaster wrote on Twitter : "Nothing to say about Ricky Gervais that James Acaster hasn’t already said."
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In the clip, the Off-Menu host says: "They say whatever they like, edgy comedians. No one tells them what they can and can’t say. They walk straight on stage, top of their specials sometimes, and do 10 solid minutes just slagging off transgender people.
"People on the internet get upset about it… the comedian’s always like, “Bad luck, that’s my job, I’m a stand-up comedian, I’m there to challenge people.
"If you don’t like being challenged, don’t watch my show. What’s the matter guys, too challenging for you?”"
He continues: "Yeah, cause you know who’s been long overdue a challenge? The trans community.
"They’ve had their guard down for too long, if you ask me. They’ll all be checking their privilege on the way home, thanks to you, you brave little cis boy.
"I used to name one of the comedians that was about, in that routine, but it always got really awkward in the room because apparently in 2019 most people are still more than happy to laugh at trans people but they’re not comfortable laughing at Ricky Gervais yet. That’s the line."
Shortly after Netflix dropped the Ricky Gervais special on the platform, social media users took to Twitter to slam the jokes, declaring they were "not comedy" and were just "making cheap, nasty stereotypes out of a minority group".
One tweeted: "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."
Gervais has defended the programme, saying he wanted to take the "audience to a place it hasn't been before". He told BBC One's The One Show: "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. It's mad to think that joking about something means you're anti-it".
But the comedian is not the only star to face backlash over his content. In recent months, the streaming giant has come under fire after being criticised by viewers for its comedy specials.
It's reported that viewers and Netflix staff we not in favour of US comedian Dave Chappelle's stand-up show over claims it was transphobic and earlier this month he was attacked on stage by a man who is alleged to have found parts of his routine about the LGBTQ+ community and the homelessness "triggering".
Jimmy Carr, a British comedian, also faced the music this year for his Netflix special which talked about the murders of people from Europe's traveller communities in the Holocaust.
