Ricky Gervais is not one to bite his tongue and we love him for it because it’s always good for a laugh, which means we’re ready for his next comedy special, Gervais is treating it as it will be his last because he thinks the content of the special will get him ‘canceled.’
During a chat with “Heat Magazine”, via The New York Post, Gervais talked about his next comedy special, appropriately called Armageddon, and he says he will be pushing the boundaries of what can be joked about and not only does he think it will ignite backlash, he’s also embracing it:
“One thing I’ve decided to definitely do, and can’t wait to start on, is my new stand-up show. I’m treating it like it’s my last one ever. It won’t be, but I want to put everything into it. I want to try and get canceled. No, I just want to go all out there.”
The comedian went on to add, “[Armageddon] is about the end of the world and how we’re going to destroy ourselves for lots of reasons, whether it’s media stupidity, or the actual end of the world… There’s no subject you shouldn’t joke about. It depends on the joke. As a journalist, there’s nothing you wouldn’t write about. It depends on your angle, right? I think a lot of this pious offense comes from people mistaking the target of the joke with the subject. You can joke about anything, but it depends on what the actual target is. If you use irony and people see that at face value and think you’re saying one thing but you’re actually saying the opposite.”
Stand-Up comedy has been a touchy subject matter when it comes to cancel culture. Many comics have found that venturing into certain topics for material can bring about major consequences and one of the most famous recent examples would be Dave Chappelle and his Netflix specials. He has asked those situations virtually unscathed but it really does come down to who is saying and what was said. It will be interesting to see how Ricky Gervais navigates this.
Are YOU interested in Ricky Gervais’ next comedy special, and do you think it will get him “canceled”?