Thank God for Ricky -
'Just because you're offended it doesn't mean
you're right': Ricky Gervais brands 'cancel culture' a 'weird sort of fascism'
as he defends free speech
·
The comedian, 59, described
'wokeness' as 'a weird sort of fascism' amid calls for 'the free exchange
of information and ideas'
·
Just last week, actor Ricky
said his hit TV show The Office would struggle to air today due to online
'outrage mobs'
·
In February, he spoke out
against stars who used their acceptance speeches to lecture about politics,
human rights and animal welfare at the Academy Awards
·
150 celebrated authors,
academics and journalists including Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie recently
signed a letter criticising 'cancel culture'
·
JK Rowling backed the movement
after she was accused of ridiculing women being called 'people who menstruate'
·
The letter has been supported
by household names from the left and right-wings of the political spectrum who
have united around the cause
PUBLISHED: 18:32,
14 July 2020 | UPDATED: 19:49,
14 July 2020
Ricky
Gervais has continued to slam 'cancel culture' as he defended the use of free
speech in a new interview.
The comedian, 59, who delivered a series of
controversial gags at the 77th Golden Globes awards
ceremony back in January, described 'wokeness' as 'a weird sort of fascism'
amid calls for 'the free exchange of information and ideas.'
He
said: 'There's this new weird sort of fascism of people thinking they know what
you can say and what you can't and it's a really weird thing. Just because
you're offended it doesn't mean you're right.'
'It's
just isn't true, it protects everyone. If you're mildly left-wing on Twitter,
you're suddenly Trotsky, right?
'If you're mildly conservative, you're Hitler and if you're centrist and you look at both arguments, you're a coward. Just because you're offended it doesn't mean you're right.'
·
'There's this new trendy myth that people who want free speech want to say awful things all the time': The comedian, 59, described 'wokeness' as 'a sort of fascism' (pictured in 2019)7
·
'If you're mildly
conservative, you're Hitler': The After Life creator shared his thoughts on
online shaming amid calls for 'the free exchange of information and ideas'
(pictured in March)
A
few days earlier, the actor said his hit TV show The Office would struggle
to air today due to online 'outrage mobs'.
The screen star, who played David Brent in
the BBC mockumentary,
said broadcasters are now too afraid to take risks when it comes to content.
The
programme, set at a paper firm in Slough, Berkshire, sees the character
frequently insult minorities as he grapples with political correctness.
Yet The Office, which aired from 2001 to 2002, won numerous Baftas and Golden Globes and is widely seen as one of the best British comedies ever made.+7
·
'They take things out of context': A few days earlier, the actor said his hit TV show The Office (pictured as David Brent) would struggle to air today due to online 'outrage mobs' 0%
Ricky
said viewers see Brent as a joke and are not laughing with him, but he fears
any sense of irony is lost on audiences today.
What does 'cancel culture' mean?
Cancel culture is a new phrase to describe a mob
mentality to boycott certain products, people or programs.
It is most commonly associated with people who have
caused offence through their actions or through something they have said.
But the concept has grown particularly prevalent
over the past five years and is making it 'difficult' for comedians in
particular - given certain comedic tropes have not aged well.
From
the time #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty began trending on Twitter to JK Rowling being
'cancelled' for her divisive views on transgender people, the process involves
refusing to celebrate or acknowledge a person or their work.
He told Times Radio: 'Now
[The Office] would suffer because people would take things literally. There are
these outrage mobs who take things out of context.
'This
was a show about everything — it was about difference, it was about sex, race,
all the things that people fear to even be discussed or talked about now, in
case they say the wrong thing and they are cancelled.
'The
BBC have got more and more careful, people want to keep their jobs, so would
worry about some of the subjects and jokes, even though they were clearly
ironic and we were laughing at this buffoon being uncomfortable around
difference.
'I
think if this was put out now, some people have lost their sense of irony and
context.'
His
comments came on the 19th anniversary of The Office, which was also turned into
a Christmas special in 2003 and a 2016 film spin off David Brent: Life on the
Road.
In February, Ricky spoke out against the stars who
used their acceptance speeches to lecture about politics, human rights and
animal welfare at this year's Academy Awards.
The
funnyman took to Twitter saying he 'tried to warn' the A-list stars not to
preach, while viewers watching at home called the event the 'wokest Oscars
ever'.
He
wrote: 'I have nothing against the most famous people in the world using their
privileged, global platform to tell the world what they believe. I even agree with
most of it.
'I
just tried to warn them that when they lecture everyday, hard working people,
it has the opposite effect. Peace.'
Last
week, a group of public figures signed a letter which hit out at 'cancel
culture' after JK Rowling was accused of ridiculing women being called 'people
who menstruate'.
+7
·
Taking a stand: Last week, a
group of public figures signed a letter which hit out at 'cancel culture' after
JK Rowling (pictured in 2019) was accused of transphobia
The
Harry Potter author, 54, backed the movement, spearheaded
by Pulitzer-prize winning writer Anne Applebaum who warned 'Twitter mobs'
including Donald Trump were placing 'very important restraints on freedom of
speech'.
She
told the BBC: 'There are a lot of writers, artists and journalists who are
afraid of approaching certain subjects, afraid of crossing lines or even
lacking sufficient zeal for particular subjects because they're afraid of their
peers.'
Margaret,
the author of The Handmaid's Tale, added her name despite publicly disagreeing
with the Harry Potter author.
The
letter has been supported by household names from the left and right-wings of
the political spectrum who have united around the cause.
The document, published in Harper's, calls
for: 'The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal
society, is daily becoming more constricted and demands that they want to
uphold the value of robust and even caustic counter speech from all
quarters.'
It
adds: 'It is now all too common to hear calls for swift and severe retribution
in response to perceived transgressions of speech and thought.'
+7
·
Controversy: The Harry Potter
author, 54, was criticised for ridiculing women being called 'people who
menstruate' in a tweet shared last month
+7
·
·
Speaking out: Her remarks
sparked backlash from a range of her former Harry Potter castmembers including
Rupert Grint, 31 (pictured in 2019) and Emma Watson
Comments
Post a Comment