Ricky Gervais has come under fire over controversial graphic jokes about trans people in his new Netflix comedy special.
The After Life creator, 60, only released his new show, SuperNature, just hours ago but it is already attracting fury online.
It's only four minutes into the special when the comedian unleashes the string of jokes that many have dubbed "transphobic".
In a long segment in the special, he says: "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**ks. They’re as good as gold, I love them.
"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 fucking TERF w***e?'”
Social media users took to Twitter to slam the jokes, declaring that it was "not comedy" and was 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."
While another commented: "Ricky Gervais is just an incredibly lazy comedian who hasn't worked out that just because you're offensive it doesn't mean you're funny.
"His fans now seem to consist of right wing tw**s who think cruelty is funny simply by virtue of it being cruel and "triggering the libs"."
A third lamented: "it's insane that Ricky Gervais' whole bit is screeching and cackling at marginalized groups being brutally murdered daily, before turning to the camera, making a sad face, and saying "some people put lip stick on bunnies"."
"Ricky Gervais New Stand Up Show #SuperNature makes jokes about trans women attacking & raping people in public bathrooms," another commented.
"This isn't comedy. This is making cheap, nasty stereotypes out of a minority group. Please, if you're Transgender or Support Trans lives, don't watch this."
However, others defended Gervais as they insisted that comedians should be able to joke about any subject.
One tweeted: "Ricky Gervais nailing it."
While another commented: "Ricky Gervais will gain a lot more fans than he loses."
A third wrote: "In the [US] we have Dave Chappelle. In the [UK], they have Ricky Gervais. Both are men speaking out in defense of women through comedy.
"When will women do the same? We can’t just leave all the mainstream terfing to dudes! I appreciate them tho. Thanks guys!"
Gervais' backlash comes just months after Jimmy Carr was similarly blasted back in February over a Holocaust joke in Netflix show His Dark Materials.
Last year, the streaming site also came under pressure to remove Dave Chappelle over his "dangerously transphobic" show.
