The "Ricky Gervais is a cunt on Twitter" thread [split topic]

[Moribunderast]

I find if you don't actively search out his twitter Ricky Gervais ceases to exist. 2 year gap in this thread, case in point. Still haven't even seen the Brent film (though I am morbidly curious). The only thing he can do to get me interested is more Derek. I genuinely want more Derek. He can online-bully as many people as he likes as long as he acts disabled/not-disabled (depending on which interpretation gets him most plaudits) in a show that's legitimately baffling in it's shittiness.

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Yes, I too want more Derek. The original run and the special was genuinely the comedy event of the decade so far.

[Mango Chimes]

Set up a petition.

[Utter Shit]

Still haven't even seen the Brent film (though I am morbidly curious).

I would say it's just about the exact sweet spot for not bothering with - neither good enough to enjoy, nor bad enough to get any great mileage from slagging off. The highlights on either side: a couple of the songs were half-decent and he can still more or less 'do' David Brent (enjoy), the sympathetic ending is so unearned and jarring that you can't help but compare it to Derek (slag off).

[DrGreggles]

https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/919845115551678464

While you're on the subject, is there another series of 'Derek' in the pipeline?

[Gwen Taylor on ITV]

Well, to me, racist, homophobic and sexist jokes tick the "lame" box.

Simply glorious!

[phantom_power]

https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/919845115551678464

While you're on the subject, is there another series of 'Derek' in the pipeline?

Ha he got a bot that just cycles these pearls of wisdom at random?

[phes]

What a piece of work, this twitter feed. One day people will appreciate his post-Extras critical evanescence when this feed is reappraised and recognised as the work of a brilliant man

[phes]

Ricky's guide to how trans people should respond to his jokes

https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/996373866074263553?s=19

Ricky's guide to internet civility
.
https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/996500122614882304?s=19

[Genevieve]

What a genuine and natural-looking pair of conversations.

[Sexton Brackets Drugbust]

I enjoy and understand comedy.

[Thomas]

Seeing as Ricky's defence against criticism - whether privately expressed by a bartender in Sheffield or tweeted directly to the freethinking super-atheist himself - is that he lives higher up the capitalist hierarchy than his slovenly, ordinarily-waged critics, I'd like for a billionaire to tell him he's shit. See how he handles that one.

Bragging about the size of one's bank account to deflect artistic criticism. David Brent really is on the road. Well done, you've achieved luxurious wealth in a fundamentally unequal society. Kindness is magic, is it? It's free, mate. 

[NoSleep]

Ricky's a firm believer in Worthington's Law: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke9iShKzZmM

[phes]

this needs to be tweeted to him every single time he refers to his wealth

[yesitsme]

How many people on here has he blocked?  I mean he's famous for engaging with the haters and the Twitter mongs but I think I merely pointed out how paper thin the plot of Dirk was and bingo-bango yer blocked pal.

[Depressed Beyond Tables]

Ricky's guide to how trans people should respond to his jokes

https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/996373866074263553?s=19

Ricky's guide to internet civility
.
https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/996500122614882304?s=19

Damage limitations.

His response above would be fine if there was an ounce of balance to his work. Every time he attacks a minority with his shitty 'irony' he never even attempts to take a shot at the other side. Race, disabilities, gender issues, it's always the same. One-way punching down, conveniently sidestepping the opportunity to say what he really thinks, as admitted in those tweets.

[BritishHobo]

I wonder if at any point in the last day it's occurred to him that the fact that a transgender woman has had to (treading very carefully because if she's anything other than absurdly polite then he'll fucking roast her and show off to his followers that another 'millenial' has been 'triggered') actually ask him does he hate people like her, that the fact that that's happened might mean his veil of irony isn't actually very obvious after all?

[Thomas]

Depends, is she poorer than him?

[Dr Rock]

When has he done a joke about trans people? Don't remember David Brent or Andy Millman hilariously being offensive to one.

[Thomas]

There's some fresh, witty, original stuff in the new Humanity show. A bit of it transcribed here, in text form and out of context, admittedly.

[Dr Rock]

Oh yeah. Well his onstage persona isn't a fucking 'childish misinformed man who gets it wrong' is it?

[Thomas]

Apparently.

I play a childish misinformed privileged guy who pretends to be above it all but then gets it wrong.

It's satirical, you see. When the audience laugh at his bit about identifying as a chimp and taking the piss out of transgender terminology, they're not thinking 'too right, it's all gone a bit too far' - they're actually laughing at the very idea that a childish idiot would go onstage and say such things.

It's the sort of thing Stewart Lee would like to do.

[rue the polywhirl]

Don't really find the stuff in Humanity any more transphobic than say for instance Chris Rock's more recent stand up specials. When the other side talk of the horrifyingness of dead-naming and the cruel comedy of mocking people and telling jokes you got to tell either side 'Ricky, put more effort into your stand up' and 'Trans rights people, lighten up'.

[Jumblegraws]

Damage limitations.

His response above would be fine if there was an ounce of balance to his work. Every time he attacks a minority with his shitty 'irony' he never even attempts to take a shot at the other side. Race, disabilities, gender issues, it's always the same. One-way punching down, conveniently sidestepping the opportunity to say what he really thinks, as admitted in those tweets.

He fucking blew it with m*nggate, if not before that, where the line between his terminally ignorant onstage persona and his personal prejudices became much more blurred. The most generous attitude you can take towards him is that he doesn't really care whether or not his routines get lapped up by more proactive bigots, as long as his coffers keep getting stuffed with Netflix loot.

[ieXush2i]

Oh yeah. Well his onstage persona isn't a fucking 'childish misinformed man who gets it wrong' is it?

A) he's nicked that off Stewart Lee

B) he must constantly be in character then, on Twitter, In interviews etc

[Monsieur Verdoux]

It's an elaborate Andy Kaufman style act where he's been playing a shit comedian for the last 10 years.

[Twed]

I miss the "it was a social experiment" excuse.

[Old Gold Tooth]

I wonder if at any point in the last day it's occurred to him that the fact that a transgender woman has had to (treading very carefully because if she's anything other than absurdly polite then he'll fucking roast her and show off to his followers that another 'millenial' has been 'triggered') actually ask him does he hate people like her, that the fact that that's happened might mean his veil of irony isn't actually very obvious after all?

Exactly. He's still an aggressive and belligerent knob when he drops his on-stage "persona" so he can't really act surprised when someone believes he truly means the stuff he churns out.

I remember when when he did Meet Ricky Gervais and did an off-colour joke about immigrants and the racist members of the crowd cheered their support. Later on XFM he complained about being misunderstood and wondered if he had to call himself Billy Bigot so the crowd understood he was acting as an ironic character.

That was 18 years ago. He'll never learn.

[ieXush2i]

Don't really find the stuff in Humanity any more transphobic than say for instance Chris Rock's more recent stand up specials. When the other side talk of the horrifyingness of dead-naming and the cruel comedy of mocking people and telling jokes you got to tell either side 'Ricky, put more effort into your stand up' and 'Trans rights people, lighten up'.

What transphobic material was Rock doing?

[QDRPHNC]

So he's taking the Tim Heidecker angle here, playing a fictional version of himself.

That's a new one.